We consider recommendation systems that need to operate under wireless bandwidth constraints, measured as number of broadcast transmissions, and demonstrate a (tight for some instances) tradeoff between regret and bandwidth for two scenarios: the case of multi-armed bandit with context, and the case where there is a latent structure in the message space that we can exploit to reduce the learning phase.

Amazon yesterday filed a patent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office related to detecting physical and emotional wellbeing of users based on interactions captured in voice data. The first example in the patent application depicts a user coughing while asking Alexa about being hungry. Alexa responds by suggesting a chicken soup recipe and when refused then offers to order cough drops with one-hour delivery. The voice recognition system is using sounds such as a cough or sniffle to determine if a user is unwell. However, the patent is not limited by these sounds and could be extended to different types of normal speech.

Alexa is no longer "new." The smart-tech revolution is now in full swing, and Amazon Echo is at the heart of it. According to Edison Research, nearly 40 million people own voice-activated speakers, which is about one in six U.S. adults. Echo changed the game, and millions of households have integrated Alexa into their daily lives. For many technophiles, it's not a question of whether to invest in smart technology, but what kind.

To date, using Google's real-time translations has officially required a set of Pixel Buds. But what if you'd rather not use the official audio gear? You might not have to. Droid Life has noticed that Google quietly changed a support page to state that real-time translation is available for "all Assistant-optimized headphones and Android phones," not just Pixel Buds and Pixel phones as the page said as recently as October 11th. Users have already verified that this works on a basic level -- you can use the Pixel 3's USB-C headphones to translate on a non-Pixel phone.

Move over mobile marketing: A little voice is whispering that your time as "the next big thing" is almost up. Actually, that whisper is more of a shout, and it's "Echo"-ing across the digital landscape, as voice-response technology is rapidly emerging as the most disruptive force to hit the industry since the internet became a visual medium. Just how loud will this sonic boom be? If your brand is starting to hear Siri's siren-like call to action, here are some insights and considerations you might find helpful: Research from OC&C Strategy Consultants projects that voice shopping will jump to $40 billion in 2022 (up from $2 billion today). However, the last-touch voice commerce experience has yet to reach the mass adoption levels that retailers like Amazon initially envisioned.

It's becoming ubiquitous and invisible,

Turns out, artificial intelligence isn't just helpful for powering chatbots and voice assistants. It may also be able to help brands create emotionally intelligent ads. A suite of big-name marketers like Microsoft and Gap have started relying on AI to optimize the content of their ads, tapping into ad-tech startups like Persado to generate personalized ads based on the language a user is most likely to respond to. Think of it as an AI-powered, automated copywriting machine. The Persado platform can be used across web, email, text, and social ads.

Virtual assistants are a fast-growing phenomenon, not only with the use of consumer products such as Amazon's Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple's Siri, but as part of automated communications with many industries, such as airlines and banking. The healthcare market has lagged behind, but in September, Nuance and Epic released the first version of a conversational virtual assistant. It operates on Nuance's Dragon Medical cloud-based platform and is available through Epic Haiku, a mobile app for physicians that interfaces with the Epic EHR. The assistant is an upgrade to the app, used by physicians, which provides secure access to clinic schedules, hospital patient lists, health summaries, test results, and notes, while supporting dictation. The immediate impact has the potential to reduce provider burnout, diminish difficulty locating information in the EHR, and change the physician-patient dynamic.

Google wants to do more than just organize the world's information. It wants to infuse itself into our lives and replace several of our daily tasks robotically. That, clearly, is the goal, as outlined this week. Forget about those shiny new Pixel phones, tablets and speakers that Google announced this week at a splashy event in New York. Or a new talking video speaker that takes on Amazon's Echo Show with a focus on Google visuals like mapping, calendar, and, of course, all that YouTube content.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the latest in a long line of technologies to play a part in the digital transformation of the financial services industry. The potential of this technology is vast: it can cut costs, provide human and systemic efficiencies, boost customer experience, promote loyalty and boost returns. According to business research firm Gartner, the two key components of AI – machine learning and deep learning – will be adopted as the norm within the next two to five years. There is real impetus and enthusiasm for organisations to adopt these technologies. Andy Pardoe, principal director of AI at Accenture Digital UK&I, says: "AI can be used across the entire value chain, from first contact with a potential new customer all the way to providing additional services to long-term customers. This is happening across the front, middle and back office functions."