Is there a correlation between the milestones required between Data AI/ML and Intelligent Automation (RPA) value curve over time?
For organizations to achieve the most value from their data, they must establish a data foundation that allows for high-quality reporting on past events. Establishing a Databrick’s Lakehouse foundation requires no AI/ML capabilities. Then, over time, use that data AI/ML to drive automated decisions for crucial business processes.  For this reason, there is a direct correlation between the “value curve” for both data and intelligent automation. 
The value maturity curve for intelligent automation starts with basic, attended, or unattended automation that mimics basic human processes today. Then, as you mature your Robotic Process Automation (RPA) program, your automation(s) need to expand to include simple document understanding AI.  Extracting data from the same form hundreds or thousands of times is a good example. Finally, for any organization to gain the highest value and ROI for their intelligent automation investments, using complex AI/ML to produce automated decisions for digital workers (unattended automation) enables exceptionally complex, long-running automation to be successfully developed, put into production, and maintained over time.

In summary, think of “AI/ML” as the thinking and “Intelligent Automation” as the doing. The value of both Data and RPA to any organization grows exponentially over time as they develop their ability to apply to complex AI/ML such that those models deliver trusted automated decisions to the digital workforce running complex automation.