Artificial intelligence (AI) is equivalent to undiscovered land in the world of technology, over which, countries and the companies in them are competing for control. According to a recent McKinsey report, Alphabet invested about $30 billion in developing AI technologies.

Sofie Bates reported in a Standford news article that earlier this year a Stanford-led group studied developments in artificial intelligence research in order to keep track of trends in the fast-paced field. The groups’ second AI Index Report, published on December 12, reported that the field is now more than ever focused on language processing – how AI learns and understands human languages – and has expanded its global reach.

This information helps investors and governmental agencies determine how to allocate resources and provides updates for people whose lives will be affected by new developments in AI. The report was kickstarted by AI100, a collaboration of researchers who felt it was important to be tracking the progress of the field. It is now overseen by Yoav Shoham, professor of computer science, emeritus, under Stanford’s Human-Centered AI Initiative.

“We’re trying to inform the conversation about artificial intelligence with hard data,” Shoham said.

Consumers are becoming more comfortable talking to technology.

As someone who recently purchased a bundle of Amazon smart devices, I can assure you that these devices will become even more useful as the technology advances.
With an estimate of over 20 million Amazon smart speakers sold in 2017 alone, and if you factor in other smart devices like Apple Airpod and Google Home, you realize that tens of millions of American are interacting with technology through voice commands.