Since 2009, technology has been steadily blurring which tasks are best performed by a human, and which by a machine – from smart home sensors to music made from generative algorithms and the use of artificial intelligence in places like hospitals and schools. Since the inception of WIRED UK in 2009, this world has grown and shifted in ways that would have been hard to predict – and what were once buzzwords, the offshoots of science fiction, have increasingly become a part of our everyday life. "We're in this period of a massive convergence of a number of very high level trends," says Jeremy Palmer, CEO of QuantumBlack, an advanced analytics firm which is a McKinsey company. "The amount and variety of data, computing power, infrastructure like cloud capabilities along with academic research and papers are all rapidly advancing. Machine learning and artificial intelligence are enabled by these things so we're seeing it embedded into real world applications more and more. For example, we are increasingly seeing artificial intelligence and machine learning being subsumed into industries like healthcare, education and architecture."

Artificial intelligence (AI) was invented to support humans. With time, it has developed into a technology that delivers results. Although expensive initially, AI has now become affordable for small businesses as well. According to a survey of CEOs from small and medium-sized businesses, 29.5% of CEOs have spoken in favour of AI technology and its various benefits on businesses. Artificial intelligence has garnered trust with time, and some big names such as Bill Gates and Elon Musk have become its supporters.

Robot dogs have come along way from the days of being tipped over by humans. A surprising new video shows off just how advanced the four-legged droids have become, as a'HyQReal' robo-dog can be seen dragging an airplane that weighs a whopping 3 tons across the Geneva Airport in Italy. HyQReal was created by researchers at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) as a device designed to support humans in emergency situations. Luckily, as the video shows, the robot dog would almost certainly be capable of lifting a heavy human. The robot dog drags the heavy airplane with apparent ease across approximately 33 feet before a researcher with a game controller makes it stop. It's an amazing feat, considering the HyQReal weighs just over 280lbs and is roughly 4ft long.

Science fiction writers describe them as intelligent robots. Industry 4.0 advocates call them autonomous cyber-physical systems. The former often depict them in the worst possible light, as part of their nightmarish visions and dystopian horror stories. From Arthur C. Clarke's HAL to James Cameron's T-800, these AI-powered mechanical monsters have a tendency to use their supernatural strength and intelligence to outwit, outrun and outgun humans. On the other hand, the tech sector tends to view them as the catalyst to exponential productivity growth–the key to automation utopia.