Following on from the first Citrix prediction for 2018,the second prediction for this year’s technology landscape is around an issue that was a hot topic last year, and will likely continue to be so – Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning.

In case the growing popularity of Siri, Alexa, Google Home, not to forget chatbots, wasn’t enough to convince you that AI is indeed here to stay, Citrix points out that machine learning and AI tools and platforms are getting easier to use, and this is causing them to become more pervasive. It asserts that both of these technologies (AI and machine learning) will have a huge impact on the future of work and security.

More particularly, the company explains that machines will be able to learn what’s normal and what’s not, to predict and enable future automations or shutdown bad-actors in security use cases. Considering the high profile cybersecurity attacks that we saw in 2017, whether from malware or ransomware, enlisting the aid of machine learning in the ongoing war against cybercrime could offer some hope.

Citrix also addressed one of the more worrying ramifications of AI and machine learning, and the automation each portend – namely what it means for jobs.

It asserted that AI will not replace the need for human employees, but rather will give people an amazing opportunity to learn new skills and apply more strategic and meaningful actions to new roles. The company reassured that nothing will ever replace the importance of human creativity, empathy and innovation.

Perhaps then, AI will be less akin to Terminators, eliminating all gainful employment, and more comparable to Bruce Wayne’s Alfred, freeing us up to concentrate on what matters to us and leaving the grunt work in their capable hands.