While machines aren’t quite ready to take over the world, they have added an element of convenience and practicality to nearly every industry. With the help of Artificial Intelligence and machine learning, it’s now possible to enjoy the benefits of autonomous cars, advanced cyber security, a more efficient healthcare network, predictive analytics, personalized advertising and marketing, credit card fraud protection, GPS technology, and so much more.

This past year, machine learning applications have grown significantly, and there are no signs of it slowing down. In fact, machine learning patents grew at a 34% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) between 2013 and 2017, the third-fastest growing category of all patents granted, and there are no signs of it slowing down. The International Data Corporation (IDC) forecasts that spending on AI and machine learning will grow from $12B in 2017 to $57.6B by 2021.

Since machine learning models are becoming increasingly more and more a part of our lives, it’s essential to understand recent trends and changes. Here are the key trends in machine learning from 2018.

1. The need for data scientists in the job market has increased

With any booming technology, growth opens the door to more jobs. As the demand for more machine learning resources grows, so will the demand for more data scientists. As such, it’s likely we’ll see a rise in data science education and training courses to help decrease the widening gap between supply and demand of data scientists.

2. Cybersecurity is being taken more seriously

Machine learning makes it possible to capture and store algorithims in ways previous generations never thought possible. While this has many benefits including deep learning and therefore better market research, access to personalized shopping experiences, and the ability to predict consumer behaviors, it also carries some risks.

As machine learning gets stronger, so does the capabilities of hackers. This year, especially in light of various recent cyber attacks, there has been an increase in focus on cybersecurity. We’ll likely see this trend continue into 2019.

3. Smoother IT operations

With advances in machine learning, long gone are the days of waiting on a small tech support team to manually crunch numbers, provide reports, and make assumptions based on potentially faulty data.

Machine learning makes it possible to automatically capture and sort data science that yield intelligent business insights.

2018 has seen many smart advances in InfoTech including better data dashboards, predictive analytics, and improved operations.

4. A focus on robotic process automation

Again, AI doesn’t quite rule the world yet, but it does make manual and mundane tasks easier than ever before. In fact, automation helps in every industry that relies on data and science to make better decisions. This includes marketing, advertising, health, finance, manufacturing, market research, education, and so much more.

As far as 2018 is concerned, robots haven’t taken over the world, but they have made huge contributions to the world of business automation.

Wrap Up

These are just 4 of the top and most important trends of 2018. It will be interesting to see how machine learning advances in 2019.