Chat platforms are quickly becoming the new social media, creating meteoric growth for platforms such as Slack. More than 3 million users from companies including NASA, eBay, and Inc. already use Slack, which has been working to integrate chatbots capable of making everyone's job easier. In the past year, Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon have all created APIs for chatbots and artificial intelligence assistants. They've joined the hundreds of millions of users in Asia who interact with bots through Line and WhatsApp. Chatbots are positioned to serve as digital assistants, with the ability to handle basic tasks such as scheduling meetings, answering routine questions, and setting follow-up reminders. They have rapidly become the hottest technology resource in the business world.

Jill Watson, a bot, was used as a teaching assistant at Georgia Tech, and students never realised she's not human Automating rule-based and routine tasks like grading of tests and assignments can help reduce tedium for teachers We still need human teachers to mentor students, to promote high thinking and to provide the human touch Jill Watson, a bot, was used as a teaching assistant at Georgia Tech, and students never realised she's not human In January this year, Jill Watson joined the Georgia Institute of Technology US as a teaching assistant (TA) to help MSc (computer science) students with their design projects. Her job was to reply to their (thousands of) questions. She was prompt, responded quickly to questions over email, and posted regularly on online fora. She had an easy manner -- often responding with a brief "yep" or welcoming suggestions with a "we'd love to". The students described her as sharp, impersonal and prompt to respond.

This $6,000 appliance might seem like an excessive purchase, but it's just one example of how the connected home industry is likely to grow tremendously in the coming years. Smart home devices got a lot of hype in 2016, from in-home assistants like the Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) Echo to connected and automated toilet seats. While most of these smart home devices range from under $100 to a few hundred, the Samsung (NASDAQOTH:SSNLF) "Family Hub" refrigerator, clocking in at a cool $5,999 on the high-end model, takes the prize as the most expensive smart home device of the year. Here's what that hefty price tag will get you, and why 2016 looks like just the beginning of a connected home revolution. The Samsung "family hub" refrigerator is not your typical ice box.

The annual exercise of looking forward to all the exciting innovations the next year can reasonably be expected to bring is here once again. Last year at Telegraph tech we predicted 2016 would witness the rise of mobile payments, the creation of smart cities that can think and function autonomously, and the premiere of virtual reality in people's living rooms. Trials have proven artificial intelligence to be effective in suggesting treatments by analysing patients' genomes This year we've expanded our horizons somewhat to include moonshot projects, the social ramifications of technology and one disaster scenario. Here are our predictions of the technology events to come in 2017. Self-driving vehicles have arrived more swiftly than anybody thought: Google and Apple have been experimenting with the technology for years, the Autopilot mode on Tesla cars has clocked up over 200 million miles, and every carmaker is scrambling to get self-driving software into their vehicles.

Crime Prediction software analyzes existing patterns from police databases It uses the data to predict when and where an event is likely to occur next It's hoped this can alert patrol teams to which districts may need more attention It's hoped this can alert patrol teams to which districts may need more attention Nanotech'superbatteries' that can last longer and charge... Water discovery! Scientists find a new state of matter for... Travelling star heading towards Earth could cause a... Consumer Reports refuses to recommend Apple's new MacBook... Nanotech'superbatteries' that can last longer and charge... Water discovery! Scientists find a new state of matter for... Travelling star heading towards Earth could cause a... Consumer Reports refuses to recommend Apple's new MacBook... Minority Report-style crime prediction has edged closer to reality with a new AI software launched in Dubai. CCTV footage shows group of youths launch brutal assault on man POTUS and FLOTUS give their last holiday message from the White House Santa delivers! Little girl asks Santa for her daddy to come home Video shows Brooklyn lawyer who verbally attacked Ivanka on plane Male guests in a Chinese wedding flock to harass a bridesmaid Danish man crosses German border'dressed as ISIS soldier' Guests throw chairs as huge fight breaks out during wedding Man's amazing backflip saves child from out of control car Adorable baby gets incredibly excited about live motor racing MASSIVE Christmas brawl breaks out at New Jersey's Newport Mall Prince William & Duchess of Cambridge arrive at church service Danish man crosses German border'dressed as ISIS soldier' Man's amazing backflip saves child from out of control car Fans of Ivanka Trump flood Clinton supporter's Amazon book... Italian TV presenter gives viewers a real news flash when... Zara and Mike Tindall reveal they have lost their unborn... Baby starves to death in home days after her parents died... Stupid or dangerous?

For the 100-year-plus history of the automobile, cars have generated plenty of emotions. But those feelings have occurred in humans. Honda is looking to change that dynamic, and is ready to showcase how at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next month. It's called the "NeuV," and according to Honda it's "a concept automated EV commuter vehicle equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) called'emotion engine' that creates new possibilities for human interaction and new value for customers." "Harnessing the power of artificial intelligence, robotics, and big data to transform the mobility experience, Honda today announced that'Cooperative Mobility Ecosystem' will be the theme for its participation at the 2017 [CES]," the automaker said in a statement.

In some ways, tech in 2017 will be a steady progression from what came before it. Time marches on, and so too does the advance of technology. In other ways, though, it will be just as upended as the rest of the world by the unprecedented disruption that 2016 has left in its wake. The artificial intelligence revolution is well and truly upon us, but so far, the biggest players are venerable Silicon Valley titans such as Google, Amazon and Apple. That's partially because they have the money to hire teams full of PhDs at seven-figure salaries, but it's also because they have the data.

Advanced analytics and other emerging technologies are revolutionizing the way governments and public service agencies are trying to address citizen demands, helping to overcome persistent challenges such as regulatory compliance, outdated legacy IT infrastructures and organizational cultures, according to a new research report from Accenture. The report, Emerging Technologies in Public Service, examines the adoption of emerging technologies across agencies with the most direct interaction with citizens or the greatest responsibility for citizen-facing services: health and social services, policing/justice, revenue, border services, pension / social security and administration. As part of the report, Accenture surveyed nearly 800 public service technology professionals across nine countries to identify emerging technologies being implemented or piloted. These technologies include advanced analytics/ predictive modeling, the Internet of Things, intelligent process automation, video analytics, biometrics/ identity analytics, machine learning, and natural language processing/ generation. The survey found that while more than two-thirds (70 percent) of public sector agencies are evaluating the potential of emerging technologies, only a small percentage (25 percent) is moving beyond the pilot phase to full implementation.

Virtually everywhere you look, Bay Area tech businesses are running into walls. Smartphones were revolutionary and lucrative, but the U.S. market is saturated, and Apple's iPhone sales have fallen for three quarters. The "app economy" has matured, with more people using existing apps than downloading new ones. And Facebook, which has filled users' news feeds with so many ads it can barely add more, is predicting its revenue growth will slump next year. Silicon Valley needs its next big thing, a focus for the concentrated brain power and innovation infrastructure that have made this region the world leader in transformative technology.

With all the incredible momentum behind the Internet of Things (IoT) industry, it is easy to forget that not a single CEO wakes up and wonders if "my IoT is broken." What they wonder is if they are making the right decisions to do all they can to increase revenue, decrease costs, and improve customer experience - effectively the same challenges they have always had in growing their business. The exciting thing about the IoT industry is now these decisions can be better, faster, and smarter. Now all corporate assets - people, objects, and spaces - can share information about themselves and their surroundings. And this data can help make better decisions through improved insights.