The end of truth as we know it?

This year it's all about data - a small, rather dull word for something that is profoundly changing the world we live in. New technologies, from voice-controlled speakers to "internet of things" (IoT) sensors, connected cars to fitness wearables, are vastly increasing the amount of digital data we produce. And artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and cloud computing are transforming the way we store, analyse and apply it. AI could be a powerful force for good, improving healthcare and combating climate change, for example. But it also presents many dangers - to democracy, to financial markets, to the belief in objective truth. Data in the wrong hands, used in the wrong way, could even threaten world peace, some commentators warn.