As 2017 winds down, trend watchers are looking ahead to 2018 and thinking about the trends taking shape. Artificial Intelligence is top of mind for many. What is Artificial Intelligence (AI), and what is the difference between AI, Machine Learning and Deep Learning? According to techopedia, "Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an area of computer science that emphasizes the creation of intelligent machines that work and react like humans." AI computers might be used for speech recognition, learning, planning and problem solving.

According to a new market research report by MarketsandMarkets, the market is expected to grow from $667.1 million in 2016 to $7,988.8 million by 2022, at a CAGR of 52.68 percent during the forecast period. The growing usage of big data in the healthcare industry, ability of AI to improve patient outcomes, imbalance between health workforce and patients, reducing the healthcare costs, growing importance on precision medicine, cross-industry partnerships, and significant increase in venture capital investments are expected to drive the AI in healthcare market. Software to hold the largest share of the AI in healthcare market The AI software is used to assist the medical system in relevant insights, medical imaging and diagnostics, drug discovery, in-patient care and hospital management, virtual assistance, precision medicine, lifestyle management and monitoring, patient data and risk analysis, and research. The growing usage of smart devices, and the presence of major AI software providers such as IBM Corporation (US), Google Inc. (US) and Microsoft Corporation (US), Enlitic, Inc. (US), Next IT Corp (US) are driving the growth of the AI in healthcare market for the software offering. Deep learning technology expected to grow at the highest rate between 2017 and 2022 The deep learning technology which includes image recognition, signal recognition, and data mining-is expected to witness the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

It is something that companies and businesses have been trying to implement (and something that society has feared) for decades. However, with all the recent advancements to democratize artificial intelligence and use it for good, almost every company started to turn to this technology and technique in 2016. The year started with Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg announcing his plan to build an artificially intelligent assistant to do everything from adjusting the temperature in his house to checking up on his baby girl. He worked throughout the year to bring his plan to life, with an update in August that stated he was almost ready to show off his AI to the world. In November, Facebook announced it was beginning to focus on giving computers the ability to think, learn, plan and reason like humans.