Years ago, if someone told you that she was buying a camera for her bedroom, you'd imagine she was planning something naughty. But times have changed, and Amazon believes that you'll spend $200 on a camera that's both an extension of your smart home and the ultimate fashion accessory. The Echo Look is designed to help you look your best every morning, guiding and improving your style every time it's used. But what it represents, and what Amazon gets out of it, could be a much bigger deal for the future of fashion. Echo Look resembles pretty much every other smart home security camera you'd care to find, but it's not about protecting your property.

The PR2 robot learns how to assemble an IKEA table from demonstrations and interactive corrections.

After mastering 40 human languages, a Swedish startup has turned to dolphins, hoping to use its language-analysis software to unlock the secrets of communication employed by the aquatic mammals. Using technology from artificial intelligence language-analysis company Gavagai AB, researchers from Sweden's KTH Royal Institute of Technology will begin compiling a dolphin-language dictionary. The software will monitor captive bottlenose dolphins at a wildlife park about 90 miles south of Stockholm, the company said in an emailed statement Wednesday. "We hope to be able to understand dolphins with the help of artificial intelligence technology," Jussi Karlgren, an adjunct professor of language technology at KTH and co-founder of Gavagai, said in the statement. "We know that dolphins have a complex communication system, but we don't know what they are talking about yet."

Machine Learning algorithms can predict patterns based on previous experiences. The overarching practice of Machine Learning includes both robotics (dealing with the real world) and the processing of data (the computer's equivalent of thinking). These algorithms find predictable, repeatable patterns that can be applied to eCommerce, Data Management, and new technologies such as driverless cars. The full impact of Machine Learning is just starting to be felt, and may significantly alter the way products are created, and the way people earn a living. Machine Learning algorithms are trained with large amounts of data, allowing the "robot" to learn and anticipate problems and patterns.

Amazon.com Inc., seeking a bigger slice of the clothing market, is casting itself as a style adviser. The Seattle-based online retailer on Wednesday introduced the Echo Look, a new version of its artificial-intelligence powered speakers that includes a camera. The company said the $200 device, which is only available via an invitation for now, will enable consumers to take videos and photos of their outfits and compare them via algorithms. But Amazon's plans are likely much broader than offering fashion advice, experts say. Potential applications range from becoming a virtual home-fitting room to a communications and security system for companies -- all ways to more deeply integrate the company into consumers' lives.

Exponential progress in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, fuelled by the combination of cloud, big data and new algorithms, is transforming the retail industry. As AI leverages big data to automate, predict and personalize, retail is testing and implementing these applications to garner robust competitive advantages. The key focus for AI in retail is customer relationships. In times of concerns for the retail sector in the UK where sales posted biggest quarterly fall since 2010, the refashioning of this industry comes as a breath of fresh air with many opportunities to come. Global Artificial Intelligence Opportunities in Retail, 2017, new research from Frost & Sullivan's Connected Industries Growth Partnership Service, offers an overview of AI and its relevance to business in 2017.

Digital technologies are at the center of everything. The ability to act smarter and move faster determines whether a business flourishes or flounders. Yet generating greater value for customers while producing new efficiencies for an organization requires more than sophisticated devices, systems, and data frameworks. "Artificial intelligence, machine learning, and deep learning are revolutionizing business–and marketing," explained Oliver Christie, artificial intelligence strategist at business consulting firm Foxy Machine, in an interview with CMO.com. "It's an area that CMOs and others cannot ignore."

If the basics of retail are elementary, then it should be no surprise that a technology named Watson is leading what may be one of the biggest trends in 2017. Watson is the name of an artificial intelligence technology (AI) by IBM; many may remember Watson for its $1 million winning streak on "Jeopardy." Today, several major retailers -- from Macy's to 1-800-Flowers.Com -- are using or testing the supercomputer's cognitive computing capabilities to more acutely predict (and serve) customer wishes. Most recently, Staples announced plans to implement Watson technology to bring to life its Easy Button. Infused with the technology, the button can now take Staples orders by voice, text, email, messaging app or mobile app.

Ever been frustrated by the checkout process when buying something on your phone? Is your billing address not the easiest thing to thumb in? Did a hidden AutoFill demon suddenly overwrite what you tapped out, with your address from seven years ago? Can you not find the one required field that's preventing you from submitting? (Spoiler: I often fall victim to all of these.) A solution is on the way. A new interface paradigm -- the conversational AI form -- offers ways of entering data that is dynamic, personally customized, mobile-first, and just more fun to use.

Late last week, our colleagues at TechConnect highlighted an Amazon deal for $50 off the Ring Video Doorbell Pro. That deal quickly disappeared, but good news: It's resurfaced at Best Buy. The big box retailer is selling the Ring Video Doorbell Pro for $199 this week instead of the usual $249. The Ring Video Doorbell Pro does just what its name suggests. It's a smart home doorbell with a camera that allows you to see who's at the door.