WHY IT MATTERS: Digital Transformation

A detailed study of machine intelligence in industrial and manufacturing operations reveals the surprisingly different paths companies can take. But a group of leaders shares similar characteristics.

The golden era of AI is here. But how can organizations best harness the technology and integrate it seamlessly into their CRM? This MIT report explores the next-gen powers of AI for CRM. Download the whitepaper for a deep dive on how Salesforce Platform, embedded with Einstein, turns customer data into predictive insights to deliver the most personalized, intelligent experiences for both customers and employees.

Cutting-edge technology gives a glimpse into the future of how things will get made, and what manufacturers must do to stay relevant.

What AI can — and cannot — do for your organization.

The robots are indeed already here. I work at a university where my job is teaching students and doing research and robotics and so I really what I want to convey to you today is the trends that I see robotics research going that will ultimately turn into actual products and directions that you might be able to take advantage of in the future.

A survey of AI researchers tallied predictions for when machines will start beating humans at everything from LEGO assembly to essay-writing.

We explore CEOs’ current perceptions of how robotics in the workplace is shaping their businesses today and in the near future. We also offer our perspectives on how robotics and automation have the potential to be truly transformative in the way they create value within organisations.

If you’re a designer or engineer in the building, infrastructure, or manufacturing industries, you have probably heard about generative design, and maybe you’re excited—or skeptical. Or maybe you’re wondering, what is generative design? Will it pave the road for a new future of making things? Or will artificial intelligence usurp entire governments to become the overlords of 

What if a CAD system could generate thousands of design options that all meet your specified goals? It’s no longer what if: it’s Project Dreamcatcher, the next generation of CAD. Dreamcatcher is a generative design system that enables designers to craft a definition of their design problem through goals and constraints. This information is used to synthesize alternative design solutions that meet the objectives. Designers are able to explore trade-offs between many alternative approaches and select design solutions for manufacture.

An Amazon team at Lab126, a research center based in San Francisco, has developed an algorithm that learns about a particular style of fashion from images, and can then generate new items in similar styles from scratch—essentially, a simple AI fashion designer. The approach is crude and hardly ready for Project Runway, but it hints at the possibilities.

The CB Insights artificial intelligence deals tracker looks at top AI deals across industries.

The most anticipated slide deck of the year is here. Key takeaways:

• Global smartphone growth is slowing: Smartphone shipments grew 3 percent year over year last year, versus 10 percent the year before. This is in addition to continued slowing internet growth, which Meeker discussed last year.
• Voice is beginning to replace typing in online queries. Twenty percent of mobile queries were made via voice in 2016, while accuracy is now about 95 percent.
• In 10 years, Netflix went from 0 to more than 30 percent of home entertainment revenue in the U.S. This is happening while TV viewership continues to decline.
• Entrepreneurs are often fans of gaming, Meeker said, quoting Elon Musk, Reid Hoffman and Mark Zuckerberg. Global interactive gaming is becoming mainstream, with 2.6 billion gamers in 2017 versus 100 million in 1995. Global gaming revenue is estimated to be around $100 billion in 2016, and China is now the top market for interactive gaming.
• China remains a fascinating market, with huge growth in mobile services and payments and services like on-demand bike sharing. (More here: The highlights of Meeker's China slides.)
• While internet growth is slowing globally, that’s not the case in India, the fastest growing large economy. The number of internet users in India grew more than 28 percent in 2016. That’s only 27 percent online penetration, which means there’s lots of room for internet usership to grow. Mobile internet usage is growing as the cost of bandwidth declines. (More here: The highlights of Meeker's India slides.)
• In the U.S. in 2016, 60 percent of the most highly valued tech companies were founded by first- or second-generation Americans and are responsible for 1.5 million employees. Those companies include tech titans Apple, Alphabet, Amazon and Facebook.
• Healthcare: Wearables are gaining adoption with about 25 percent of Americans owning one, up 12 percent from 2016. Leading tech brands are well-positioned in the digital health market, with 60 percent of consumers willing to share their health data with the likes of Google in 2016.