What is the hottest topic in retail blogs for 2017? There is a fairly good reason for this, it's connected to the future of how consumers search, press buttons in apps to get stuff in the real world done and how we connect with services, goods, connected devices, fun experiences, and most of all with each other. Advances in computer vision and real-time NLP means AI is more actionable, and we are seeing this on the front lines of retail innovation. In 2017, even local merchants can upgrade their stores with exceptionally good foot traffic sensors, loyalty marketing retargeting that's basically automated and do ad-tech promos right at the POS basically for free. Perhaps as Tom Goodwin states, the future of retail pertains to everything being shoppable.

Since this version of the book is for the Indian market, I was a bit worried about the potential differences from the U.S. 3rd edition. But after doing a first-hand comparison, I found a LOT more similarities than differences. The biggest difference is the absence of the last two chapters. The U.S. edition includes: Chapter 26, "Philosophical Foundations", which covers arguments over consciousness in machines and the possibility of robot uprisings; and Chapter 27, "AI: The Present and Future", which *briefly* describes some things AI researchers need to work on before we can build a "general-purpose intelligent agent" (a.k.a. These two chapters are interesting, but I wouldn't call them core material, so I'm not surprised they got left out.

Amazon has developed an algorithm that can design clothing by analyzing a bunch of images to copy the style and then apply it to new items generated from scratch, reports MIT. Amazon is focussing heavily on fashion, and has previously said it's looking to become "the best place to buy fashion online," so designing its own pieces pinned to current trends seems like a logical move. The algorithm was developed by Amazon Lab 126, the company's research and development hub and uses a tool called generative adversarial network (GAN). The GAN is a new technique in AI research that forces two neural networks against one another, using the outcome to improve the overall system. It learns from raw data -- so by looking at a batch of images, it can draw out a style. That could mean spotting a particular trend on Instagram, Facebook, or its own collection of fashion imagery generated by the company's new Echo Look cameras.

Learn more about how to implement AI at the Artificial Intelligence Conference, September 17 - 20, San Francisco, CA. It has been seven years since Apple unveiled Siri, and three since Jeff Bezos, inspired by Star Trek, introduced Alexa. But the idea of conversational interfaces powered by artificial intelligence has been around for decades. In 1966, MIT professor Joseph Weizenbaum introduced ELIZA--generally seen as the prototype for today's conversational AI. Decades later, in a WIRED story, Andrew Leonard proclaimed that "Bots are hot," further speculating they would soon be able to "find me the best price on that CD, get flowers for my mom [and] keep me posted on the latest developments in Mozambique."

In the name of convenience, Amazon and Walmart are pushing people to shop by just talking to a digital assistant. Shopping by voice means giving orders to the Alexa assistant on Amazon's Echo speaker and other devices, even if your hands are tied up with dinner or dirty diapers. And next month, Walmart will start offering voice shopping, too, with the Google Assistant on the rival Home speaker. FILE - This file photo provided by Amazon shows models of the Amazon Echo Show. With Echo Show, Amazon has given its voice-enabled Echo speaker a touch screen and video-calling capabilities as it competes with Google's efforts at bringing'smarts' to the home. Amazon has been ramping up efforts to get more people to shop using the Alexa voice assistant on Echo speakers and other Amazon devices.

At last, a fully operational urban delivery drone system is here... only you probably won't get to use it. Drone logistics startup Flytrex has teamed up with Iceland's main online retailer, AHA, to launch a courier drone service in Reykjavik. Specifically, it's serving one part of Reykjavik -- robotic fliers carry food across a river in the city, cutting the delivery time from 25 minutes to 4. That doesn't sound like a whole lot, but it could make a big difference both in terms of getting your food quickly and cutting back on delivery costs. This undoubtedly comes across as a publicity grab. The delivery drones aren't carrying large packages, and it's relatively easy to handle a modestly-sized city with few big buildings.

It's hard to overstate Amazon's online retail dominance. With 76 percent market share of online retail, it's as if the 95-96 Chicago Bulls entered your local rec league. No one can challenge Amazon today, but a newly announced partnership between Google and Walmart--allowing you to order groceries with from the latter with Google Assistant, or online via Google Express, starting late September--may ultimately present a threat. In Walmart, Google adds a retail behemoth to its Google Express service, an online shopping bazaar in need of an anchor. In Google, Walmart gains a foothold in the voice-enabled future of commerce.

Wal-Mart is teaming up with Alphabet Inc's Google to enter the nascent voice-shopping market, currently dominated by Amazon.com Google, which makes the Android software used to run most of the world's smartphones, will offer hundreds of thousands of Walmart items on its voice-controlled Google Assistant platform from late September, Walmart's head of e-commerce, Marc Lore, wrote in a blog post on Wednesday. 'Starting in late September, we'll be working with Google to offer hundreds of thousands of items for voice shopping via Google Assistant - the largest number of items currently offered by a retailer through the platform,' he wrote. Wal-Mart is teaming up with Google and its Home smart speaker (pictured) to enter the voice-shopping market, currently dominated by Amazon.com, Amazon, whose voice-controlled aide Alexa allows users to shop from the retailer, has the lion's share of the U.S. voice-controlled device industry. Lore, who joined the world's largest retailer after it bought his e-commerce company Jet.com, said Wal-Mart would offer a wider selection than any retailer on the platform.

A Google Home smart speaker (left) is shown with the Google pixel phone following a product event in San Francisco. A Google Home smart speaker (left) is shown with the Google pixel phone following a product event in San Francisco. With an eye on the future of online retailing, Walmart and Google are teaming up to go after rival Amazon in a play that also targets the growing market for voice-activated shopping. Starting next month, Walmart customers will be able to access hundreds of thousands of products from the company's shelves -- everything from dish washing soap to dining tables -- via the online retailing service Google Express. Until now, Walmart's enormous inventory was available online only through the company's own website.

In a bid to take on Amazon, Google has joined forces with Walmart to widen its'Express' programme. The collaboration will allow users to order hundreds of thousands of items through Google Assistant - a voice-activated smart assistant. Google Express will include Walmart from late September in the US, although it is unclear if it will be available in further countries at a later date. In a bid to take on Amazon Prime, Google has joined forces with Walmart to create a new'Express' programme. Google Express allows you to shop at a variety of popular stores including Walmart, Costco and Whole Foods Market on the app, the Express website, or by voice.