I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.
Ever since the fictional ‘sentient computer’ HAL 9000 went rogue in ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’, people have been uneasy about the idea of machines being able to think for themselves.
Recent business thinking has come around to the more enlightened view that machines that are exclusively programmed by humans will have inherent limitations in their ability to mine data for insights and predictions. That’s where machine learning comes in – the ability of computers to perform tasks without explicit instructions.
We live in a time of exponentially increasing distractions. We are constantly bombarded by information whether it be social, news or simply advertising. We carry devices with us wherever we go to make sure we don’t miss any of this. While this constant “connectedness” may seem like the ultimate step in the quest to stay informed, perhaps it does exactly the opposite?
Powerful converging technology trends are reshaping the modern workplace. Businesses today need to cater to the demands of an emerging generation of tech-savvy, digital-native workers, while also embracing and enabling new technologies to remain competitive.
The divide between personal and business software is no longer. The modern-day workforce expects business tools to be as seamless and user friendly as any of the social media platforms we use daily. Modern ERP must accommodate this, giving managers and staff the ability to check on operations around the clock, and to share information with each other in an easy-to-use messaging format.
Barcodes have been around since the mid-‘70s, when they were first introduced into the retail environment. Today, it’s hard to imagine a supply chain or stock control system without them. But newer technology is fast threatening the continued existence of the faithful numerical striped mark. 
The control and ownership of data and metadata is fast becoming a contentious issue. The value of both is rapidly increasing. While crunching data allows you to derive business intelligence to make better informed decisions, analyzing metadata allows you to identify specific behavioral patterns.
Chances are if you’re living in the 21st century and own a phone or computer, you’ve already had a chat or two with a chatbot. Often so realistic, users may not realize they’re talking to a machine, albeit an intelligent one. These conversation-mimicking AI programs are fast transforming the way we interact with the internet.