Teaching machines to parse through large volumes of data to learn new concepts and rules is a critical area of development in artificial intelligence, experts told CNBC. That concept is called machine learning, and it's been a longtime goal for the AI discipline: The term was coined in 1959 by AI pioneer Arthur Samuel who defined it as a computer's ability to learn without being explicitly programmed. To do that, mathematical models are built and then fed with huge volumes of data, experts said. The algorithms learn to identify patterns and assumptions from those data sets that are then applied to process new information. "We want to be able to use the machine's own capability to learn from complex data," Eric Chang, senior director at Microsoft Research Asia, told CNBC.

The masters of cutting-edge AI technology recently granted me an advance visit to Amelia City, the not-yet-open lab and showplace for Amelia, IPsoft's notably humanesque AI. Amelia is so far best known for customer support/helpdesk applications (which is where my own clients, as a customer support and customer experience consultant, have encountered her to date) though her deployments have been expanding into other areas including medicine, HR, fundraising, and more. "Her" marquee clients already include some 20 of the Fortune 100, and the company is now developing pre-trained, limited-function mini-Amelias for small and medium-size businesses as well. Amelia City is at the very tip-end of Manhattan, with striking views of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty that are the mirror image of what immigrants starting a new life here would have seen. According to IPsoft CEO Chetan Dube (more from him soon), Amelia is going to bring nearly as dramatic a change to the inhabitants of our world: a new life both for better–economic results and freedom from drudgery–and worse–mass disruptions that will require workforce retraining and, probably, government interventions–and will do so with great inevitability. But let's not jump ahead.

Car chargers are essential for keeping your phone powered up during busy days. They're a boring, necessary accessory that get the job done, but usually don't spice up the drive. This car charger is compatible with the Alexa smart assistant found in the heart of Amazon Echo, and you can get it right now for $39 on Amazon with the code KJDLVIVA, more than 20 percent off its average $50 price. It's never been cheaper on the retail site. The Anker Roav Viva's Alexa compatibility allows you to use the skills normally associated with Echo, so you can get directions, listen to news and weather updates, stream music, make calls, order pizza, control the connected devices in your home, and more in your car--all hands-free.

Earlier this year, Tivo announced that it would make its set-top boxes compatible with voice assistants like Amazon's Alexa and Google Assistant. According to The Verge, compatibility with Amazon Alexa is now rolling out in an update to these devices. Users will be able to control their Premiere, Roamio or Bolt DVR with their voice by June 1st if they have a compatible Alexa-enabled device. However, Alexa's functions aren't as robust as they are with TiVo's own Vox voice-controlled remote. Users can control playback, pause, fast forward, rewind or jump back eight seconds. They can also change the channel or go to the guide or home screen.

You can now choose from six new voices for your Google Assistant. With AI and WaveNet technology, we can better mimic the subtleties of the human voice--the pitch, pace and, um, the pauses. And the Google Assistant will be able to understand when you're talking to it versus someone else, and respond accordingly. For example, you can create a Custom Routine for family dinner, and kick it off by saying "Hey Google, dinner's ready" and the Assistant can turn on your favorite music, turn off the TV, and broadcast "dinner time!" to everyone in the house. Smart Display devices will be available this summer, bringing the simplicity of voice and the Google Assistant together with a rich visual experience.

Technology nerds and enthusiasts have always dreamed of having a conversation with an artificial intelligence or AI. The living embodiment of the perfect AI would be JARVIS from the Iron Man movies. Just your voice, to have a conversation with your virtual personal assistant to do work for you. But that is science fiction. AI is still in its infancy and it has a long way to go to reach maturity to beat the Turing test.

Google gives the Assistant six new voices. Google announced the addition of six new voices for their Assistant at last week's I/O Developer's Conference. The voices are generated by Wavenet, a neural network built by DeepMind, the company that created AlphaGo. The new voices – three male and three female – are now available. Here's how to give your Assistant a new voice.

In this March 2, 2016, file photo, David Limp, Amazon Senior Vice President of Devices, pushes down on an Echo Dot in San Francisco. Forbes is your trusted source for money matters, business news and the next big trends - and now you'll be able to listen to us daily on your voice assistant. Today, we're launching a new audio briefing for Amazon Alexa and Google Home called "Forbes." We're bringing you top headlines and the career advice you need to make the cover. Expect to hear our leading business stories and a round-up of the top headlines during the weekdays.

Machine learning is enabling computers to tackle tasks that have, until now, only been carried out by people. The next wave of IT innovation will be powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning. We look at the ways companies can take advantage of it and how to get started. From driving cars to translating speech, machine learning is driving an explosion in the capabilities of artificial intelligence -- helping software make sense of the messy and unpredictable real world. But what exactly is machine learning and what is making the current boom in machine learning possible? At a very high level, machine learning is the process of teaching a computer system how to make accurate predictions when fed data.

A lot of people are worried that voice assistants like Amazon (AMZN)'s Alexa, Apple (AAPL)'s Siri or the Google (GOOGL) Assistant are spying on us at home. All three companies have said the assistants are not listening all the time, but only listen for a wake word -- or perhaps hidden commands humans can't hear. So I asked all three voice assistants if they're spying on us, just for kicks. Here's what each one said. Here's what Amazon Alexa said: "I only send audio back to Amazon when you activate me. For more information, and to view Amazon's privacy notice, visit the help section of your Alexa app or alexa.amazon.com."