There is no denying the presence of computers in our everyday life, whether it's through phones, personal virtual assistants such as Apple's Siri and Amazon's Alexa, or video games. Lately, the interest and development surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) has escalated, and the opportunities to embrace this within the healthcare industry seem to be growing. I'm not talking about conventional robots--although robotic assisted surgery is on the rise--but the inclusion of high-speed, deep learning computers to aid diagnosis and treatment. The growth of medical knowledge is far from slowing and is expected to double every 73 days by 2020. In 2017, in excess of over 80,000 oncology papers were published, according to indexing service Web of Science.

Google has finally added native Bluetooth pairing support to their Google Home lineup of smart speakers! Now you can route your music (or give other commands) through to your Bluetooth enabled speaker.

Amazon ran a commercial on this year's Super Bowl that pretended its digital assistant Alexa had temporarily lost her voice. It featured celebrities like Rebel Wilson, Cardi B and even the company's chief executive, Jeff Bezos. While the ad riffed on what Alexa can say to users, the more intriguing question may be what she and other digital assistants can hear -- especially as more people bring smart speakers into their homes. Amazon and Google, the leading sellers of such devices, say the assistants record and process audio only after users trigger them by pushing a button or uttering a phrase like "Hey, Alexa" or "O.K., Google." But each company has filed patent applications, many of them still under consideration, that outline an array of possibilities for how devices like these could monitor more of what users say and do. That information could then be used to identify a person's desires or interests, which could be mined for ads and product recommendations.

Software developers sometimes get up to the most incredible of projects even if those projects are pretty much things that accomplish a very small specific task. With the advent of voice assistants like Amazon's Alexa and Google's Assistant, along with the ease of incorporating their SDKs into any project a person desires, people are coming up with some really incredible stuff. Simon, a software engineer, decided to put his development skills to use and build something awesome. The result -- a tank that fetches you beer. Simon started simple, buying a toy-tank chassis, and then proceeded to make it a robot.

Blockchain technology is also democratizing artificial intelligence (AI). Businesses of any size will soon be able to offer the sort of personalized recommendations that are currently the province of giant retailers like Amazon. Imagine walking into a neighborhood shop for the first time and the sales associate immediately shows you the products that match your tastes, in your size, and that you don't already own. That's the sort of intuitive experience that AI promises. The barrier is gaining access to enough high quality data about customers to adequately power those systems.

The majority of us use artificial intelligence every day -- without even realizing it. Like when Google predicts your search phrase or you issue a command to Siri or you scroll through ads and articles on your Facebook feed. And that, says AI technologist, Kriti Sharma, is dangerous. "Despite the common public perception that algorithms aren't biased like humans, in reality, they are learning racist and sexist behavior from existing data and the bias of their creators. "AI is even reinforcing human stereotypes." This story is part of a series about the intersection of gender and language, "From'Mx.'

By Atul Batra, Manthan The words "Beam me up, Scotty" created an indelible memory in my mind over thirty years ago. Never before would have anyone imagined that in as many years the world would be ushering in an era of artificial intelligence powered conversational platforms for business. As a teenager growing up with the sci-fi television series "Star Trek" I was fascinated with Captain Kirk saying the lines ".....to boldly go where no one has gone before." Such powerful portrayal of the future played a part in inspiring me to go after computer sciences as a specialization in college. All those years of dreaming, and now the association with analytics and AI, have led to one absolute reality that in the short span of perhaps 18 to 24 months a wide variety of businesses globally will be working with algorithmic powered conversational platforms that serve as intelligent business advisors.

It won't shock you to hear that Siri is lagging behind rivals like Amazon's Alexa or Google Assistant -- the HomePod struggles to handle non-music tasks as well as competing smart speakers, for instance. And Apple appears to be aware of this shortfall. Thinknum has noticed that Apple has been on a Siri-related hiring spree in recent months, with 161 positions listed as of the end of March. There's been an uptick ever since summer 2016, but there was a distinct surge in February of this year. Nearly all of the new positions are for engineers, and it's notable that some of those spots are meant to tackle Siri's relative weakness in general questions.

Apple Inc. AAPL 0.78% launched its music-streaming service in 2015 a year after buying Beats Electronics LLC. Its debut stumbled over user interface and engineering problems, but the service was revamped within a year and quickly became the No. 2 on-demand service. Apple's iTunes, where customers pay to download individual songs or albums and own them permanently, is separate but accessible through the platform. Apple Music has benefited from its integration with Apple devices, from iPhones and MacBooks to Apple Watches and HomePod voice-activated speakers, which sync easily with Apple Music but less so with Spotify or other services. Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook has said streaming isn't a moneymaking business but has emphasized the importance of providing music and supporting artists.

Amazon today announced updates to Alexa's Video Skills API, which will soon allow users of TiVo, DirectTV, DISH, and Verizon television services to record their favorite shows using their voice on an Alexa-enabled device so a user will be able to say "Alexa, record the Warriors game" to start a DVR recording. The update announced today for the API that gives Alexa control of video content will also allow customers to navigate to often-used destinations, like a show guide, home screen, or DVR menu. It will also allow users to ask for TV apps like Prime Video by name or say "Alexa, pause" to stop play. Tech giants making AI assistants are vying for people's attention on many fronts. Amazon wants to enter your workplace and your car, but the main battlefront today still seems to be the home, and there the company has made pitches to enter virtually every room.