Is Reinforcement Learning the Next Big Thing?

Moving forward but not there yet.  What specifically will it take? 

Reinforcement learning: The next great AI tech moving from the lab to the real world

M M Hassan Mahmud, Digital Catapult in VentureBeat    March 28, 2021 10:20 AM

Reinforcement learning (RL) is a powerful type of artificial intelligence technology that can be used to learn strategies to optimally control large, complex systems such as manufacturing plants, traffic control systems (road/train/aircraft), financial portfolios, robots, etc. It is currently transitioning from research labs to highly impactful, real world applications. For example, self-driving car companies like Wayve and Waymo are using reinforcement learning to develop the control systems for their cars. 

AI systems that are typically used in industry perform pattern recognition to make a prediction. For instance, they may recognize patterns in images to detect faces (face detection), or recognize patterns in sales data to predict a change in demand (demand forecasting), and so on. Reinforcement learning methods, on the other hand, are used to make optimal decisions or take optimal actions in applications where there is a feedback loop. An example where both traditional AI methods and RL may be used, but for different purposes, will make the distinction clearer.  .... '