Amazon is to start selling its voice controlled speaker the Amazon Echo in the UK and Germany. Amazon Echo is a cylindrical, voice-controlled speaker which also increasingly functions as a smart home digital assistant. Triggered by someone saying the name Alexa (or Amazon, or Echo) it can play music you ask for from services like Amazon Music and Spotify, or play audio books from Audible. When it detects the wake word, Echo's light ring turns blue and begins streaming the request to the cloud: the spoken request is sent to Amazon Web Services to process it and respond, using a neural network-based speech recognition system to recognise what is being asked for. The device can respond to questions such as "Alexa, will it rain tomorrow?",

Ford has revealed plans to grow and increase profit margins by streamlining and transforming the company into a dominant player in next-generation automotive technology. On Wednesday, the Dearborn, Michigan-based firm said that expansion into the mobile area is moving apace, but more opportunities await the automaker in next-generation technologies -- including electric vehicles (EVs) and self-driving technology. Ford plans to grow the company through an enhanced focus on utility vehicles and heavy investment in "emerging opportunities," with the overall aim of becoming a leader in "electrification, autonomy and mobility," the firm said in a press release. By 2020, the automaker plans to spend at least 4.5 billion on EV technologies -- including hybrid models -- and introduce 13 new electric vehicles by 2020 with a focus on commercial transport, trucks, and performance vehicles. This will make up 40 percent of Ford's overall product lineup, highlighting how strongly the company believes EVs are the ticket to future success and profit.

LONDON – 14 September 2016 – New research commissioned by IP EXPO Europe, Europe's number one enterprise IT event, shows that although 37% of respondents think that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be a main technology theme for enterprises in 2017, there are mixed signals in terms of business application, investment levels and impact on society from UK IT decision makers (ITDMs). The results reveal that a significant 32% of respondents claim they are concerned about AI replacing human jobs overall, with 19% admitting that they are more worried about their own job being overtaken by a robot than they were 12 months ago. In addition, there is a clear perceived risk factor, with almost a third worried about the unknown impacts of increased AI. 22% of respondents also voiced concerns about AI providing another route for cyber security attacks. Interestingly, 1 in 10 UK ITDMs thought that no form of artificial intelligence was of value to business. However, the results also indicate that any hesitancy in uptake perhaps comes from a lack of immediately recognised business/organisational applications and perceived cost.

Two out of three organizations that have deployed Internet of Things (IoT) products are ill-equipped to deal with the risks associated with the new concept that has gained significant traction over the last one year, said a new report by Capgemini and Hewlett Packard Enterprise. IoT is usually defined as a network of devices that can connect, communicate and control or manage each other to perform a set of tasks with minimum human intervention. According to the World's Quality Report, which is based on the survey of 1,600 IT professionals across 32 countries, of the 85 per cent organisations worldwide claiming to have IoT products as a part of their business operations, 68 per cent do not currently have a test strategy for this specific aspect of IT, Enterprises around the world are embracing machine-based intelligence, including artificial intelligence, machine learning and big data analytics to make sense of exponentially growing data, owing to the expanding network of devices. "The growing adoption of digital technologies is consuming large amounts of budget and businesses are finding it challenging to balance innovation with cost, with 48% failing to meet the contrasting demands of handling multiple test environments," the report said. "Organizations are finding it tough to strike a balance between quality and speed of development, particularly when it comes to deploying Internet of Things (IoT) technology."

Robotics and artificial intelligence not only give us means to take care of traditional physical routines, they also vastly expand our intellectual capacity and our capacity related to understanding. Artificial intelligence facilitates a new kind of working life and moulds the hierarchical structure that we are used to operating within. Robotics can be used to replace organisations' middle management, administrative supervisory functions. Artificial intelligence is more efficient than humans in taking care of rotas, performance assessments and routine employee guidance. Robotics and artificial intelligence not only give us means to take care of traditional physical routines, they also vastly expand our intellectual capacity and our capacity related to understanding.

AI and machine learning are all the rage across a range of technology and industrial sectors. Now, the U.S. military is gauging the prospects for leveraging machine learning and other tools in autonomous weapons via emerging human-machine interfaces. In describing the latest version of the Pentagon's "offset strategy," senior U.S. defense officials have in recent months highlighted the military's desire to leverage AI to develop autonomous weapons. That, Robert Work, deputy U.S. defense secretary, noted in a recent address, "is going to lead to a new era of human-machine collaboration and combat teaming. Added Work: "Collaboration is using the tactical acuity of a computer to help a human make better decisions and human-machine combat teaming is using manned and unmanned platforms." DoD's "offset strategy" refers to a blueprint designed to maintain technological superiority.

Spending thousands of hours playing Grand Theft Auto might have questionable benefits for humans, but it could help make computers significantly more intelligent. Several research groups are now using the hugely popular game, which features fast cars and various nefarious activities, to train algorithms that might enable a self-driving car to navigate a real road. But the stunningly realistic scenery found in Grand Theft Auto and other virtual worlds could help a machine perceive elements of the real world correctly. A technique known as machine learning is enabling computers to do impressive new things, like identifying faces and recognizing speech as well as a person can. But the approach requires huge quantities of curated data, and it can be challenging and time-consuming to gather enough.

Last week, Google announced that it has added real-time, AI-enhanced reporting capabilities, as well as easier sharing of data, to its popular Analytics site analysis software. The new functionality - dubbed "Automated Insights" - is available on late-generation Andriod/IOS devices now; a web version is also in the works. "Google is taking the initiative and wants to let people know that it is going to be like a brain." Between 30 and 50 million marketers use Google Analytics. But while GA's user base his huge, the actual range of tasks used by most users is quite narrow.

Marketing departments are failing implement the most effective strategies [#ChartoftheDay] - Smart...

At the recent VentureBeat MobileBeat conference on July 13, a panel of executives assembled to discuss the impact of emerging technologies on the future of commerce. Three executives from high-profile companies - Holger Luedorf, senior vice president of Business Development at Postmates; Nichele Lindstrom, director of Digital Marketing at Whole Foods Market; and Eric Moujaes, senior director of Global Digital Product at McDonald's - chimed in and gave their insights on what they believe to be the most overhyped and promising technologies that will impact commerce in the near term. Their perspectives fell on the spectrum of the slightly surprising (drones will not be the future delivery vehicle of choice) as well as in alignment with current'hot' trends (chat bots look to be in like flynn). All three executives' opinions shed light on the potential future of our role as consumers and on businesses as providers in a'brave new world'. With companies like Amazon and Google forecasting the use of drones for delivery (any day now), people may be expecting these unmanned aerial vehicles to be a serious part of the future of commerce, but McDonald's Eric Moujaes believes differently.