To stay current with AI news and insights, sign up for the O'Reilly Artificial Intelligence newsletter. Bots have become hot, fast. Their rise--fueled by advances in artificial intelligence, consumer comfort with chat interfaces, and a stagnating mobile app ecosystem--has been a bright spot in an otherwise darkening venture-capital environment. I've been speaking with a lot of bot creators--most recently at a conference called Botness that took place in San Francisco at the beginning of June--and have noticed that a handful of questions appear frequently. On closer inspection, bots seem a little less radical and a lot more feasible.

I am a senior Marketing student at Clemson University, graduating in May 2017. I am currently taking advantage of the incredible opportunity to spend my summer in Barcelona, Spain working as a Marketing Assistant for Marketeer.

Macy's is testing a mobile tool using artificial intelligence that lets shoppers get answers customized to the store they're in -- like where a particular brand is located or what's in stock -- that they would normally ask a sales associate face-to-face. The tool, which the nation's largest department store chain calls a "mobile companion," can be accessed for now through a browser and will accept questions in 10 U.S. locations about products, services and facilities. It uses natural language and offers feedback in seconds. It's developed by IBM Watson -- the Jeopardy-winning "cognitive computing" service and is designed to keep learning more about the store's customers. That's a key element as Macy's seeks to spur sluggish sales, make being at the store more enjoyable and distinguish itself from online portals and specialty retailers.

Ever wonder how much you spend each month on Uber? The newly released Trim chatbot will tell you in a text. Trim also helps you manage subscriptions, set up spending alerts and check your bank balance. But there is no app, only a bot that can be linked to SMS or Facebook. "Anything that you can do on your mobile banking app, you can do with trim with the exception of moving money," said CEO and co-founder Thomas Smyth.

Nasa has announced that it has found evidence of flowing water on Mars. Scientists have long speculated that Recurring Slope Lineae -- or dark patches -- on Mars were made up of briny water but the new findings prove that those patches are caused by liquid water, which it has established by finding hydrated salts. Several hundred camped outside the London store in Covent Garden. The 6s will have new features like a vastly improved camera and a pressure-sensitive "3D Touch" display

CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS – Has your child swallowed a small battery? In the future, a tiny robot made from pig gut could capture and expel it. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are designing an ingestible robot that could be used to patch wounds, deliver medicine or dislodge a foreign object. They call their experiment an "origami robot" because the accordion-shaped gadget gets folded up and frozen into an ice capsule. "You swallow the robot, and when it gets to your stomach the ice melts and the robot unfolds," said Daniela Rus, a professor who directs MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory.

FRANKFURT--China's Midea Group made its formal offer to take over Germany's Kuka AG in face of criticism by some of the robot maker's investors and German politicians that management hasn't done enough to find another suitor. Midea, primarily a maker of home appliances, announced its offer of 115 ( 130) a share for the shares it doesn't already yet own in Kuka on Thursday. The price represents a significant premium to the Germany...

TYSONS CORNER, VA, July 19, 2016 -- BAE Systems has received a 9.4 million contract from the U.S. Air Force to develop and integrate a machine learning tool that works to support space situational awareness efforts, ExecutiveBiz reported Monday. The Defense Department said Friday BAE Systems Inc. will also utilize analytics, high-performance computing and reasoning visualization technologies to build the platform. About Executive Mosaic: Founded in 2002, Executive Mosaic is a leadership organization and media company. It provides its members an opportunity to learn from peer business executives and government thought leaders while providing an interactive forum to develop key business and partnering relationships. Executive Mosaic offers highly coveted executive events, breaking business news on the Government Contracting industry, and delivers robust and reliable content through seven influential websites and four consequential E-newswires.

Sure, Facebook has "M", Google has "Google Now", and Siri's voice isn't always that of a woman. But it does feel worth noting that (typically male-dominated) engineering groups routinely give women's names to the things you issue commands to. Is artificial intelligence work about Adams making Eves? The response to this critique is usually about the voices people trust and find easy to understand. Adrienne LaFrance over at The Atlantic does a good job discussing those points, so go read her article.

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