The Google Home finally has the ability to speak Spanish. Though Spanish was available as part of Google Assistant for some time now, for whatever reason it wasn't available through the Home, Home Mini, or Home Max. Spanish support started to quietly roll out two weeks ago, and now Google is formally announcing the feature. Three localized versions of Spanish are available: one for Spain, Mexico, and the US. The Home and Home Mini actually launched in Spain last week (where, obviously, Spanish support was available from the start), and Google is also bringing those devices to Mexico as of today.

Technology is an important driver of future business. Those who make use of the opportunities offered by new technologies gain competitive advantages through innovation and productivity. The earlier the potentials of trends for one's own business model are recognised, the better they can be implemented. The adaptation of artificial intelligence, machine learning or smart data massively and continuously changes not only products but business models and even markets. Customers want to use the advantages of technology experienced in all areas of life – including in the financial sector.

Humans aren't going away anytime soon, of course, so neither are traffic lights. But researchers are taking steps toward a future where smart traffic lights and internet-connected cars can make getting around town smoother for both drivers and pedestrians--as well as provide other benefits, such as giving priority to public transit or emergency vehicles and reducing auto emissions. For AI to do its potential magic, the first thing that's needed is data. So several startups are connecting hundreds of sensors at traffic lights to understand why congestion is happening and learn how to manage it in real time. For instance, Rapid Flow Technologies, which began as a Carnegie Mellon University research project, is testing its Surtrac traffic-management system in the East Liberty neighborhood in Pittsburgh.

However, IoT is about data, not things!

The emotional reactions of top tennis players at Wimbledon will determine which highlights fans get to watch, and how quickly they are available. Wimbledon and its digital partner IBM have fine-tuned their artificial intelligence (AI) systems this year to help automatically edit the top action. With an average of three matches per court, per day, video from matches can add up to hundreds of hours of footage. AI-analysis uses crowd noise, player actions and match data to edit video. Those video clips are then provided to the organiser of Wimbledon, the All England Lawn Tennis Club, for uploading on its official website, apps, and social media channels.

A chatbot is a text-based program empowered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Learning Processes (NLP). A user generally interacts with the chatbot over a platform through a communication channel connected to a network. In other words, chatbots are bots that live in chat platforms. There are numerous kinds of bots present globally, and they all can perform various tasks. The most common type of bot is the one offering customer services.

As our dependence on technology builds and the privacy-destroying, brain-hacking consequences of that start to come to light, we are seeing the return of a science-fiction trope: the rise of the robots. A new wave of television shows, films and video games is grappling with the question of what will happen if we develop the technology to create machines in our own image. Westworld posits that if we could develop realistic androids, we would want to rape and murder them for fun. In Blade Runner 2049, they have replaced humans as sex workers and manual labourers. In the recently released video game Detroit: Become Human, androids are nannies, carers and even pop stars, omnipresent in the home and in city life.

Suzhou City-based AI and speech technology company AISpeech announced today it had raised CN¥500 million (US$76 million) in Series D Funding led by Oriza Holdings and China Minsheng Investment Group. Chinese media reports the company is also planning an IPO on a local stock exchange. AISpeech was founded in 2007 by University of Cambridge graduates CEO Shixing Gao and Chief scientist Kai Yu. The company develops human-machine interaction technologies with a specific research interest in natural language, speech recognition and synthesis, and voiceprints. While Google and Amazon market their own smart speakers, AISpeech plays its role in the underlying technologies.

While a decade ago China was known to be the "world's factory," manufacturing everyday household goods for companies across the globe, in recent years tech and internet companies have redefined the face of Chinese industry. Both Tencent and Alibaba are now among the world's top 10 most valuable companies. Indeed, Chinese companies are now leading the way in the most disruptive global tech trends, including autonomous vehicles, machine learning and blockchain. According to Deloitte, global CFOs' optimism about the Chinese market has never been higher. But all this innovation has come with a side effect: Chinese consumers' expectations of brands and businesses have risen to match the market's optimism.

A photo of the first Aquila high altitude aircraft being built by Facebook in England. Facebook said Tuesday it was shutting down the project, four years after its start. SAN FRANCISCO -- Facebook has grounded its Aquila internet drone project after four years. The project, aimed at building a drone that could fly over an isolated area and provide internet coverage, will shut down, the social media company announced Tuesday in a blog post. Facebook is abandoning efforts to build its own aircraft and will close the British facility involved in the project.