Because my day job is investing in artificial intelligence, I end up thinking a lot about cybersecurity, which is the largest category of AI solutions. Reflecting on the most recent high-profile corporate hack, where Uber revealed a breach exposing data from 57 million users and drivers, I found myself wondering how many brand marketers felt a chill.

"Be prepared" is more than just the Boy Scout's solemn creed, or a fun-but-obscure song by Tom Lehrer, the great singer-songwriter-satirist and retired Harvard math professor. It's what marketers should do right now to get ready for the post-modern age of artificial intelligence hurtling toward them.

Very important artificial intelligence research was presented last week at the Oaklins Desilva+Phillips 2017 Dealmakers AI Summit, an elite invitation-only event in Manhattan to which a friend wrangled plebeian me an invitation. The research, "Reshaping Business with Artificial Intelligence," produced by MIT Sloan Management Review and The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), reveals stark differences between companies that are leading the charge to adopt AI ("Pioneers") and those that are not ("Passives").