According to a recent survey, shopping by voice is expected to grow from $2 billion to $40 billion in the next four years. How far along are smart speakers right now? USA TODAY Sonos' smart speakers are a good fit for audiophiles with a penchant for technology. Speaker company Sonos has filed to go public. The company plans to list shares on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "SONO," according to filings. It didn't specify how many shares would be up for sale or list an estimated offering price.

All three a virtual tie, but each had questions they couldn't answer. Tune in to find out where Apple, Google and Amazon fell down. An Amazon Echo Dot is displayed on Sept. 27, 2017, in Seattle. You're probably thinking that the last person I wanted to endure a heat wave with last week was my 91-year-old father. But I drove out to Long Island anyway, leaving the oppressive heat of the Garden State for the the unrelenting crankiness of dear old Dad.

With little fanfare, smart speaker company Sonos has just announced it plans to go public. Sonos plans to raise $100 million in its IPO, but noted that amount was "estimated as a placeholder." Along with the announcement, the company released the requisite S-1 form through the SEC, and that contains a host of other info about the state of the company. In it, the company starts by making it clear why it thinks it can be a long-term success: "The proliferation of streaming services and the rapid adoption of voice assistants are significantly changing audio consumption habits and how consumers interact with the internet. As the leading home sound system for consumers, content partners and developers, Sonos is poised to capitalize on the large market opportunity created by these dynamics."

There is a long history in sci-fi of robots accompanying humans in space. These robots' ambitions have run the gamut, from those that try to embrace their humanity (like Data from "Star Trek") to others that try to kill us (like HAL from "2001: A Space Odyssey"). But before we can know whether real-life robots will help us or turn on us in space, we have get them up there. Enter CIMON, short for Crew Interactive Mobile Companion. It arrived on the International Space Station on the back of a SpaceX rocket on Monday.

Due to its deep learning and independent decision-making capabilities, artificial intelligence (AI) is expanding in different business areas. The concept of artificial intelligence or machines that aim to emulate human thinking is undergoing vigorous research and is a topic that is increasingly being associated with the Internet of things. An AI enabled IoT system extends the functionality and value of an organization's offering, without the need for committing additional resources to achieve the increased value. This is exemplified by Under Armour(UA) and IBM's collaboration on the UA Record app, which is an AI-based personal fitness coaching system, that uses a variety of sensor data to suggest highly personalized, context-relevant fitness activities to users. Such applications of AI are going to be more commonplace in the future as they are already having a significant impact on many industries.

Voice-powered technologies such as Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant, and Cortana, are changing the way people shop, drive cars, and manage their homes. Studies have suggested that, by 2020, 50% of all searches will be conducted by voice and smart speakers are expected to reach 55% of U.S. households by 2022. It is no different for physicians. In a nationwide survey of pediatricians conducted by Boston Children's Hospital (not yet published), 62% of respondents said they have used voice-assistant technology, and one-third own, and use, at least one "smart speaker." Simple voice-dictation software such as Dragon that is used to capture clinical notes in electronic medical records is now fairly common in clinical settings.

When Google introduced Google Duplex, its AI assistant designed to speak like a human, the company showed off how the average person could use the tech to save time making reservations and whatnot. What wasn't touched on was the possibility that Duplex may have a use on the other side of the line, taking over for call center employees and telemarketers. A report from The Information suggests Google may be making a play to find other applications for its human-sounding assistant and has already started experimenting with ways to use Duplex to do with away roles currently filled by humans--a move that could have ramifications for millions of people. Citing a person familiar with Google's plans, The Information reported the company is already in conversation with at least one potential customer that would like to integrate Duplex into its operations. That firm, an unnamed large insurance company, is reportedly interested in using the voice assistant to handle simple, straightforward customer service calls.

I was in a Brooklyn restaurant the other week and overheard a young man -- definitely a millennial like myself -- arguing with an older couple, most likely his parents, about a variety of topics: healthcare, the point of full-time employment, phones. He really hates using the phone, and to prove just how unnecessary it's become, he pointed to Google Duplex. Google Duplex is a new AI assistant that performs tasks over the phone like booking a haircut or making a restaurant reservation, and its unveiling at Google's developer event in May made for what the Verge called "perhaps the most jaw-dropping moment" of CEO Sundar Pichai's keynote speech (skip ahead to 35:00). In a replay of a real phone conversation with a restaurant employee, a shockingly human-sounding robot booked a reservation, negotiating misunderstandings over the date and number of people without missing a beat. Pichai said at the time that Google Duplex was years in the making, and today, a fully functional version of the technology is still a ways off.

The perfect Tinder photo: yes, it has to get you on your good side and disguise that double chin, but is there more to it than just looking good? Hana Michels, a comedian and writer from LA, who shared a screengrab of her Tinder profile to Twitter this week, found that a lot of men whom she matched with weren't interested in her at all but in her toilet paper holder. She explained that she had been chastised by no fewer than 23 men in a year for the direction in which her toilet paper was facing – a small detail in the background of the photo. This is my tinder profile. I've had it for a year.

Have you been wanting to buy one of those Amazon Echo talking speakers, but never got around to it? Mark Monday, July 16 on your calendar: there will probably be a great deal on one. Amazon's Prime Day is set for Monday, July 16th, the made-up summer holiday that's turned into one of the e-tailer's biggest sales day of the year. On today's episode of #TalkingTech, we offer tips on how to start preparing now to save on Prime Day, one of Amazon's biggest sales days of the year. The sale starts Monday July 16 at 12 p.m. Pacific/3 p.m. Eastern.