Under the media’s radar and away from the latest trends, the industry keeps making headway in its road to digitization. Much is being said about the importance of connecting all machines, the Internet of Things, but transformations will be far reaching and of all kinds.

BBVA Executive Chairman Francisco González expressed his commitment to Mexico during his visit to Mexico City, announcing new investments to move forward the transformation process at BBVA Bancomer. “We are going to invest $1.5 billion,” he said,  following a meeting with Mexican Minister of Finance and Public Credit, José Antonio Meade. The 5-year investment plan will help BBVA Bancomer to leverage technology and develop solutions for its customers.

The latest news reports say that this could be the year of voice assistance for everyday objects, including smartphones. For several years now, smartphones have practically become an extension of the body and they are in the spotlight at the most important phone fair in the world – the Mobile World Congress being held this week in Barcelona.

A recent White House report analyzes the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and other exponential technologies on the labor market. Doomsayers estimate that the U.S. will lose more than three million jobs from IA, but optimists recall that the phenomenon will create millions of new jobs.

BBVA’s bank in Turkey, Garanti Bank, has developed an interface that lets customers perform transactions on their app by speaking to it. Efma recognized Garanti’s mobile voice assistant MIA, naming it the innovation of the month.