Data Science Central recently published an article on “Can Big Data Algorithms Tell Better Stories than Humans.” We were intrigued to read the article as the general ideas that it presents are right in line with what he have worked on in the past, and continue to look towards in the future. In essence, the article presents the idea that it may be possible to teach a computer the process of structuring data into a narrative just like humans can do. Skeptics exist because they are fearful that technology will replace their job description. Algorithms generated by computers have the ability to change many things in our daily lives, not only the way we search.

We have already begun to see a shift by the major players in the computer and search industry in recognizing that artificial intelligence is on its way and employing a variety of measures to stay at the forefront of this emerging technology.

The mere mention of AI, or artificial intelligence brings up mixed emotions. On one side of the coin, it sounds cool and high-tech, but it also seems like it has had much hype over the last few years without many publicized breakthroughs. Sure we have IBM’s Watson, Siri and dare we say self-driving cars. But have any of those cutting edge artificial intelligence technologies changed life as we know it?

Machine learning and machine intelligence can be a frightening prospect to think about for some. For nerds like us we hold high hopes of the possibilities, but for others they picture machine-like robots creating chaos in the streets.

Is the real reason that AI hasn’t taken off in the past simply because as a society we weren’t ready for it? Or is that we had to build the systems that can now accommodate it. Processing speeds have greatly improved as well as the computational capacity necessary to support artificial intelligence.

Algorithms have the potential to transform nearly any type of business operation. Take for example a nuclear power plant. In this scenario the plant supplies power to a large number of customers, runs 24 hours a day seven days a week and has a high price tag associated with each hour that the plant is down for maintenance. If an algorithm can detect a problem before it actually happens then, it can save a great deal of money and manpower.

The news publishing industry has become fearful of algorithms and AI taking over and writing their stories for them. Maybe they have little cause for concern due to the recent announcement that Penn State Technology BBookX that can build textbooks by utilizing artificial intelligence and open source.

The resurgent interest that we have seen in artificial intelligence is here to stay in our humble opinion. AI-powered applications have unlimited possibilities and will more than likely become the newest disruptive technology.