NUMBER OF FLEX CUSTOMERS intelligence , they are all gathering data and producing data , and the amount of data being produced is constantly exceeding what was created in the past ,” says Kettler . “ It isn ’ t physically possible for a human being to review this data , and that ’ s what has created this convergence of machine learning and AI . Machines sit on the back end and manage this tremendous amount of data , taking it to a point where it is meaningful for the end user .”

This so-called technical intelligence is the goal towards which the industry is moving , especially in automation . Take for example a self-driving car potentially having enough of a “ brain ” to make life or death decisions . However , a brain requires a nervous system – in other words , connectivity – and until now in technology this has been patchy , unreliable and faintly incoherent . But the arrival of 5G will purportedly put paid to the dribbling connectivity of the past and introduce a whole new world of IoT , intelligence and automation .

14 February 2018