In this issue

Artificial intelligence is here to stay. Machine learning solutions using deep neural networks are everywhere these days. Big Tech goliaths like Google, Uber and Amazon are famous for tapping into AI to improve their services and – more importantly – their bottom lines.

However, organisations outside of Silicon Valley are also increasingly using AI in everything from improving manufacturing in factories to city planning. No wonder then that GlobalData forecasts suggest that the market for AI platforms will reach $52bn in 2024, up from $29bn in 2019.

The AI sprawl is not without its downsides though. Over the years, dodgy algorithms have been blamed for things like self-driving car-related deaths, Twitter cropping out people of colour from photos and unjust court rulings.

Technology sceptics have also been quick to stoke fears that smart machines will steal people's jobs. True, research from the World Economic Forum estimates that 85 million jobs will be displaced by AI. But the same research predicts that the technology will also create 97 million new jobs.

I haven’t yet even mentioned the doomsday predictions from the likes of Elon Musk who believe autonomous thinking boxes will lead to killer drones a la Skynet. Farfetched as the Tesla founder’s predictions may be, it’s true that machines are only getting smarter and that businesses risk losing out unless they tap into the technology.

Given the expanding ubiquity of AI in our lives, it seems fitting that the first issue of Verdict Magazine in 2022 is devoted to the technology. We spoke the tech CEO behind One Concern, who was inspired to build a digital twin of Earth, using AI to save the environment. Elsewhere, we  heard from Covariant CEO Peter Chen about his AI-powered robotics solutions for warehouses. We also looked into the future of medtech to investigate how AI can be useful at the intersection of healthcare and technology.

Read on for all of this plus the usual in-depth analysis and comment in the latest issue of Verdict Magazine.

Eric Johansson, editor