On the face of it, it seems like some kind of impossible oxymoron. But it makes perfect sense… (Or at least it does to me now that I've attended the NZ Tech Marketers September event, Unleash your creativity with the power of AI.) Auckland's Tech Marketer contingent had the benefit of insights from Amanda Johnston-Pell, IBM's Chief Marketing Officer for Australia and New Zealand, and our Wellington and Christchurch cohort were joined by the ever-impassioned Isuru (Issy) Fernando, IBM New Zealand's Chief Design and Technology Officer. Both shared findings from the recent IBM 2019 Marketing Trends report: Nine factors reshaping marketing and how you can stay ahead of them. Doing this makes it less scary, binary and wo/man v. machine-ish. Issy says: "There's a lot of hype and uncertainty – and a lot of fud – out there about what AI is. We need to think of AI as less artificial reality and more augmented reality. It really changes the conversation. "If you look at humans across civilisation we've been augmenting ourselves with machines all the time.

Discussions around Artificial Intelligence (AI) have proliferated and will continue to over the next year. Businesses are beginning to see its value in a wide range of sectors, even as reports that show how machines are encroaching on activities previously assumed to require human experience may instil fear that AI will replace workers' jobs. Simply put there is no hiding the explosion of AI and its applications. In Singapore, the government is investing S$150 million into a new national programme to boost the country's artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities over the next five years. They will partner AI start-ups and companies developing AI products to grow knowledge in the space, create tools and develop talent.

Fujitsu EMEIA CTO Dr Joseph Reger looks at how Artificial Intelligence is proliferating at an uncontrollable pace, arguing that businesses can no longer ignore the impact it is having. Discussions around Artificial Intelligence (AI) have proliferated and will continue to over the next year. Businesses are beginning to see its value in a wide range of sectors, while a different report is released every day that instils a fear that AI will replace workers' jobs. Simply put there is no hiding the explosion of AI and its applications; in the UK, Durham police have begun trialling a system that will classify suspects as low, medium or high risk and help officers review their sentence. As AI, automation and machine learning push the boundaries in almost every single industry, businesses will have to embrace the technology and understand that it is a force for good.