One of the aims of this book is to show how the evolution of the data industry and the organisations that use data in all its forms has facilitated the current wave of innovation in AI. The two sectors are inextricably linked, with data acting as the fuel powering the rapidly developing plethora of AI services.

In Chapter 1, we have seen how the first transcribing and storing of information had its roots in commerce, with technology evolving to better manage and share data within and between organisations. More recently, data-driven innovation has resulted in the creation of some of the world's largest and most profitable companies. During the second half of the 20th century, AI has moved from universities and research centres into commercial applications, with businesses’ and the public's imaginations being captured by GenAI as a tangible and usable product. We have also examined some of the research and frameworks that explain the drivers of innovation with a focus on the impact of digital platforms. Finally, we looked at how the recent wave of data-powered platforms and concerns about the applications of AI are impacting political and legal initiatives around the world.

These developments are all in a state of flux and it will take several years before the economic and social implications of this data-driven AI revolution are fully understood. This chapter considers how this all might play out in the medium term in the context of how AI technologies will evolve (and what this means for the data sector and businesses) as well as the broader social and economic impacts.

Predicting the future is fraught with dangers and, for the most part, inaccurate. However, looking at recent precedents in the ways new technologies have diffused, the unchanging realities of business and the need to generate profits, and the current state of AI technologies, we can make some broad assumptions in this space.