It's hard to make a case for the "sudden" development of something that has been a formal topic of research for more than 60 years. Attending presentations on Artificial Intelligence (AI) at three recent conferences and following that up with extensive reading does, however, suggest that all of us engaged in teaching-training-learning need to be familiar with recent AI developments and projects that are rapidly changing our world. The April 2018 Unconference for Dreamers, Doers, and Drivers Shaping the Future of Learning, held on an Arizona State University campus and previously discussed here on the Top of Mind blog by The Tambellini Group Senior Analyst Alex Freeman, paid ample attention to AI. Developments in all three areas are continuing to open doors to potential collaborations between learning facilitators, learners, and machines in ways that may foster more dynamic, engaging, and results-oriented learning experiences for those we serve in our lifelong-learning environments. Examples cited by Keller include customizable learning experiences, student-persistence prediction, unbiased grading systems, more sophisticated and useful teacher-student performance analytics, suggested learning paths, better ways of matching students and teachers in learners' moments of need, and detecting fraudulent activity in the learning process. Unconference participants walked away from Keller's presentation and their subsequent explorations of the topic with a commitment to "design blueprints for an AI-enabled virtual assistant for teaching, learning and advising, factoring in expanded functionalities over the next 5, 10, and 20 years," the ShapingEDU "10 Actions to Shape the Future of Education" communique confirms.

Tinder is launching a students-only version of its popular dating app. Called'Tinder U,' the app will only be available to college students at four-year, accredited, not-for-profit universities in the US, the firm announced in a blog post. Students can use the app for more than just dating, with the ability to find new friends, study buddies and more. Tinder is launching a students only version of its popular dating app. Called'Tinder U,' the app will be available to students at four-year, accredited, not-for-profit universities in the US'Tinder U is a new feature that makes it easier to connect with other students around you - putting their profiles first as you swipe,' the firm said.

Artificial intelligence and "biohacking" will be among the key trends guiding the future of technology, according to one of Gartner Inc.'s most eagerly anticipated reports. The report, released Monday, is based on Gartner's famous "hype cycle," which plots the lifespan of new technologies as they emerge from mere concepts, all the way through to their mass adoption, at which point they're finally considered to be mainstream. But that only happens if they survive what is typically a roller-coaster ride. In this year's report, Gartner's researchers are pretty confident that AI, at least, will emerge from the hype cycle unscathed. And it won't be just data scientists and other nerdy types who get to enjoy it, as Gartner is confidently predicting that the "democratization" of AI will take place within the next few years.

Back in 2016, Sony introduced a new smart light that had humidity, motion, luminance and temperature detectors, along with an infrared controller, memory card slot, microphone and speaker. It really was the light that could do it all, and it's very customizable, meaning you can program it to do pretty much whatever you want it to. Since then, Sony has announced more integrations for the Multifunctional Light. Now, the company has announced that it's compatible with Google Assistant. The updates will start rolling out tomorrow, August 22nd.

We've called Amazon's $50 Echo Dot "the Echo most people should buy," and right now you can get a few on a deep discount--when you add three Echo Dots to your cart and enter the code DOT3PACK, you'll save $75Remove non-product link, 50 percent off the list price and the lowest price we've seen. Like other Echo devices, the Dot lets you use just your voice to check the weather, play music, shop on Amazon, get news updates and of course, control smart devices, while its seven far-field microphones are designed to pick up your voice from anywhere in the room. Its small form factor means it can fit anywhere, and if you want better sound, you can easily add an external speaker using either Bluetooth or a 3.5mm audio cable. We gave the Echo Dot 4 stars out of 5 for its affordability (even before this discount), broad compatibility with other devices, and compact size. And we know our Echo devices--check out our buyer's guide for a complete roundup of everything Alexa.

With the G7 ThinQ smartphone, LG cemented its commitment to Google's AI, and now it's doing the same with its neck-worn Tone headphone lineup. The LG Tone Platinum SE supports Google Assistant via a dedicated button, letting you get information or a translation without the need to pull out your smartphone or say "OK Google." LG didn't specify, but it appears to be just a button and not full Google Assistant integration like you'll find on certain Sony headphone models, for example. Both models have in-ear headphones, but the Tone Ultra SE (below) also packs a speaker, much like the Tone Studio that launched in 2016. The idea is that you can listen to music without blocking ambient sounds, which helps when you need to be aware of your surroundings.

When I was a teenager, I used to enjoy watching a weekly television programme called "Lost in Space". In this science fiction series, a robot having a male identity was used as one of the main characters. He spoke perfect English but his speech sounded monotonic and dull – devoid of inflexions, and variations of volume and tone. This depiction of robots as sounding devoid of human emotions was not uncommon at that time – perhaps film producers felt the need to reinforce the differences between humans and machines. However, in a recent film called Her (released in 2014), the main character, named Theodore, uses an AI operating system that speaks conversational language.

One woman set up a Tinder date with dozens of men to have them battle for her heart. The Tinder user who duped hundreds of men into showing up at Union Square for a phony date Sunday was actually a stunt for a "viral marketing agency" -- the same one that famously recorded hidden-camera footage of a woman being catcalled as she walked around New York City. "We will be releasing a video Thursday that explains the entire project and story," marketer Rob Bliss of Rob Bliss Creative told The Post. Bliss, whose company "specializes in making viral video campaigns," created the widely-shared "10 hours of walking in NYC as a woman" clip for an anti-harassment non-profit in 2014. In his latest production, a model and actress named Natasha Aponte invited unwitting men she met on Tinder to the public square on Sunday for what they thought was a hot date.

One woman set up a Tinder date with dozens of men to have them battle for her heart. Dozens of dudes showed up to Union Square for Tinder dates on Sunday -- only to learn they were all there to meet the same woman, and she wanted them to battle it out "Hunger Games"-style for her heart. One Twitter user recounting his version of events says he met a woman named Natasha through the hookup app and she invited him to meet her at the public space to watch her friend DJ -- but he arrived to a totally surreal scene. "I make my way to Union Square. Eat a hot dog and look over by this open lot by 17th Ave and there is a stage and a DJ and about 100 ppl and cameras and sh-t and I think well this is some random ass Manhattan sh-t," wrote @bvdhai.

Microsoft and Amazon will bring Alexa and Cortana to all Echo speakers and Windows 10 users in the U.S. today. As part of a partnership between the Seattle-area tech giants, you can say "Hey Cortana, open Alexa" to Windows 10 PCs and "Alexa, open Cortana" to a range of Echo smart speakers. The public preview bringing the most popular AI assistant on PCs together with the smart speaker with the largest U.S. market share will be available to most people today but will be rolled out to all users in the country over the course of the next week, a Microsoft spokesperson told VentureBeat in an email. Each of the assistants brings unique features to the table. Cortana, for example, can schedule a meeting with Outlook, create location-based reminders, or draw on LinkedIn to tell you about people in your next meeting.