Who Will Be Your Next Doctor

As we’ve just explored, a revolution in artificial intelligence has been occurring, powered by factors including massive amounts of data, faster machines with much more storage and processing capability, and web-based information collection. This is leading to new capabilities that are starting to impact information technologies across the board. We see new capabilities in the search engines and social networks that enable people in many different situations, whether professional or personal, to better use current applications. We also see emerging applications in areas like health, mobility (traffic and driving), business, and almost anything that is aimed at helping human beings be more productive, healthier and, in some cases, even happier. Speech input is becoming more prevalent, moving from the much-maligned voice-based telephone assistant ("please say your ten-digit identification number so I can check your records") to the speech recognizers that are currently available on your cell phone or in your car to help you to search for local restaurants or find the nearest ATM to make a withdrawal. Looking ahead, we see continued growth of technologies like these, and new ways in which they may be able to have a more profound influence on our lives.