Plunkett's Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Machine Learning Industry Almanac 2019

Artificial Intelligence, or simply AI, is being fueled by the ever-growing speed and power of computers and software. This power has increased to the extent that software can learn from experience, by constantly analyzing data and results until the software can make accurate interpretations of data and conditions on its own, thanks to its accumulated knowledge. This process is often referred to as machine learning. While the practical definition and ultimate capabilities of AI are debated, a number of industries have put AI to work and continue to invest very heavily in advanced development. Today, AI has synergies with many highly advanced technologies such as virtual reality, factory automation, robotics, self-driving cars, speech recognition and predictive analytics. Deep learning is sometimes referred to in conjunction with phrases such as machine learning and neural networking. The main point is that software can be trained by being constantly fed data, queried as to its meaning and receiving feedback to its responses. It is essentially training a machine to respond correctly to data of a given nature or to data within a given set of circumstances. The most compelling opportunities for the development and use of artificial intelligence software may be in engineering/research, robotics, manufacturing, investment analysis and health care.