Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference is always full of surprises. USA TODAY's Jefferson Graham previews what we can expect in Talking Tech. For many Apple fans, the annual June Worldwide Developers Conference is a holiday fest of many, many new software updates that bring new features to their beloved iPhones and iPads. To others, it's an, "Oh no, Apple's going to make me download this update and it's going to destroy my phone." Just ask all the folks who saw their iPhones intentionally slow down, on purpose, with iOS 10's update that tried to compensate for aging batteries.

Most laptops come with their own virtual assistants. Amazon's Alexa has been the odd assistant out. Without a desktop OS of its own, it's been absent from this arena even as it's emerged as the most helpful virtual assistant and the Amazon Echo line dominated smart-speaker sales. But in a curious, although not entirely unexpected move, Alexa is now available on some Windows 10 PCs. Acer's new Spin 3 and Spin 5 lines both come with Alexa pre-installed, while its gaming laptop and all-in-one desktop setups will arrive with Alexa integration in the coming weeks.

Artificial Intelligence has become commonplace to the point where many don't even realize they use Artificial Intelligence on a daily basis. Last year, 84% of people used AI to do things that make life easier. Filtering out junk email, asking Siri where the nearest burrito place is, and those Facebook ads that seem to know us better than we know ourselves―these are just a few of the things AI does for us. Despite the great majority of people using the technology, only half of them even realize they are talking to a machine. The innovations in AI are astounding, and what machines can do is growing more and more similar to human behavior all the time.

Apple introduces the biggest new features of its mobile and desktop operating systems each year at its annual developer conference, which kicks off on Monday. WWDC, the Worldwide Developer Conference, offers a sneak peek at the new capabilities app developers will be able to work into their apps--and iOS and Mac users will get to use--during its opening keynote. After that, developers get deeper dives, demos, and how-to's during the conference's breakout sessions and panels. Sometimes Apple uses the event as a platform to launch new hardware products as well. Last year, the big news included the HomePod's debut, a new 10.5-inch iPad Pro, redesigns to its App Store and Music app, and ARKit, the developer framework that lets developers more easily build augmented reality apps for iOS.

From being a fancy, futuristic technology to seamlessly assimilating in our daily lives, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has well and truly arrived. Voice-powered personal assistants like Siri and Alexa to advanced Chatbots, Robo-advisors and Self-Driving vehicles, all are different applications of Artificial Intelligence that are rapidly changing the way we work, live and indulge. While Artificial Intelligence is often misunderstood for any machine learning algorithm, the true essence of it is when machines and systems can analyse user behaviour, make connections and comprehend rich meanings without relying on pre-defined behavioural algorithms and improve on past iterations. Artificial Intelligence, which is an umbrella that covers the more specific technologies of Deep Learning (DL) and Machine Learning (ML), is rapidly becoming a mainstay as organizations aim to leverage greater competitiveness, business efficiencies and enter new markets. This is proven by a Forrester Research which indicates that by the end of 2017 business investment in Artificial Intelligence will grow by 300%.

The 2018 developers conference season is coming to a close. We've heard from Microsoft and Google already, Monday, June 4th is Apple's turn to trot out its plans for the next year or so. Apple typically saves its premiere announcements like new iPhones for later in the year, using its World Wide Developers Conference to offer a look at what's coming to the devices many people already own. Usually that's in the form of MacOS and iOS updates, though last year we also met Apple's HomePod smart speaker and a 10.5-inch iPad Pro. In advance of the 2018 conference, here's a look back at what we saw last year and what we expect for Monday's events.

There's been a huge amount of focus on the improvements artificial intelligence can make to individual consumers, Dave Damer, CEO and Founder of Testfire Labs, explores the strategic productivity gains that could be recognized by SMEs, corporates, and other organizations. Spend any time reading about artificial intelligence (AI), and you might think all the innovation is in the consumer space. While there's plenty of exciting development -- the growing skills of Alexa, the natural language processing (NLP) of Google Assistant, or the ubiquity of Siri, that's only a fraction of what AI and NLP can do. There's another, seemingly intractable problem where AI and NLP could be revolutionary -- business productivity, specifically the area that gets a big collective eye roll from employees -- meetings. The idea of most meetings is to draw people together, discuss ideas and options, create a consensus, and develop actions to achieve business tasks. That's the ideal, the reality is a little different: This is compounded as workforces become more culturally and geographically diverse.

With WWDC a couple days out, we're coming up on one year since Apple first showed off its glitzy answer to the Amazon Echo and Google Home smart speakers. It took over 8 months from then for the HomePod to finally hit shelves and it took up until a couple of days ago for all the promised functionality to arrive. Four months since launch, it's clear Apple delivered some awesome hardware, but there are plenty of features I want to see the HomePod pick up when Apple comes to the stage at its annual developer conference to talk iOS 12. For all the criticisms levied against the device, the most weighty has been the fact that there isn't even a vague reason to consider buying the speaker unless you are an Apple Music subscriber. For Apple Watch LTE users who want to listen to non-Apple Music tunes the same is true to a lesser degree.

Less Hal and more Her, responding warmly to the feelings of others may no longer be a uniquely animal quality. Empathetic responses are being integrated into artificial intelligence and robotics, raising sticky ethical questions. The shift can be subtle or overt -- from emotionally appropriate gestures from your smartphone's voice assistant, to comforting robotics in clinical situations. For instance, Danielle Krettek, the founder of Google's Empathy Lab, said her work has contributed to some of the Google Assistant's apparent ability to attune to your mood. "When you say, 'I'm feeling depressed', instead of giving you a description of what depression is, it [might say], 'you know what, a lot of people feel that. You're not alone'," she explained at the design conference Semi Permanent in Sydney.

Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference is always full of surprises. USA TODAY's Jefferson Graham previews what we can expect in Talking Tech. The new iPhone X is seen on display at the Apple Union Square store on Nov. 3, 2017, in San Francisco. The iPhone X's lush screen, facial-recognition skills and $1,000 price tag are breaking new ground in Apple's marquee product line. Now, the much-anticipated device is testing the patience of consumers and investors as demand outstrips suppliers' capacity.