From Robotic Process Automation to Intelligent Process Automation:
  Emerging Trends
  In this survey, we study how recent advances in machine intelligence are
disrupting the world of business processes. Over the last decade, there has
been steady progress towards the automation of business processes under the
umbrella of ``robotic process automation'' (RPA). However, we are currently at
an inflection point in this evolution, as a new paradigm called ``Intelligent
Process Automation'' (IPA) emerges, bringing machine learning (ML) and
artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to bear in order to improve business
process outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to provide a survey of this
emerging theme and identify key open research challenges at the intersection of
AI and business processes. We hope that this emerging theme will spark engaging
conversations at the RPA Forum.
