Mark Minevich is the principle founder of Going Global Ventures and venture partner of GVA Capital in Silicon Valley. While the public is becoming aware of the possibilities of artificial intelligence, I've been evangelizing, researching and working with it for years. As a fellow of the U.S. Council on Competitiveness, a senior advisor to the United Nations Office for Project Services, and a member of both the World Artificial Intelligence Organization and B20, I've been researching AI (and sharing what I learn) for years. Although AI buzz typically surrounds statements from famous minds like Stephen Hawking or Elon Musk – both of whom rightfully worry about granting sentience to machines that control our way of life -- there are plenty of worthy conversations being had on the subject. AI also represents cybersecurity's next evolution, both as a threat and a solution.

Bots have officially taken over, and they're about to make our lives a whole lot easier. In April, Facebook introduced bots for Messenger, but the world's most popular social media platform is not the only company to open a "bot store" with consumer functions, and virtual assistants like Amazon's Alexa are steadily increasing in both popularity and functionality. With Kik, you can chat with Michelangelo and see the climate conditions through Yahoo! With Operator, shopping is as easy as sending a text, and Pana, the online travel agency, turns a simple chat conversation via text into real bookings. In fact, everyone from 1–800-Flowers and the NBA to Taco Bell is jumping on the chatbot bandwagon.

Truphone co-founder James Tagg recently addressed the critical role artificial intelligence (AI) will play in helping smartphones and other technology platforms evolve. Tagg, who authored'Are The Androids Dreaming Yet,' kicked off his presentation in Mountain View, California, by exploring some of the basic differences between humans and machines. "Human brains are fundamentally'broken' in certain ways, especially when it comes to accurately remembering a specific event a few weeks after it occurred. Yet, we can recall more than 1,000 faces – in less than 370ms (each)," he explained. "We also understand hierarchy quite well, although we have difficulty with recalling names. Plus, humans adhere to strong rules of etiquette around face-to-face communication."