It's increasingly clear that voice is the next major interface in computing, in some cases replacing the touch-based platforms of the smartphone era. Amazon's Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple's Siri, and Samsung's Bixby are leading the voice charge by providing contextual data and performing tasks on behalf of users. As voice-based virtual assistants continue move into a broad swath of form factors -- including smartphones, smart speakers, and automobiles -- their impact on the general public will grow as well. As consumer use cases continue to accumulate, these assistants are also making their way further into the office, creating new opportunities for improving business productivity and efficiency. SEE: IT leader's guide to the future of artificial intelligence (Tech Pro Research) While voice assistants are known for their ability to start a music playlist, for example, they also have great potential in the workplace.

Technological innovation is no longer optional: in an effort to optimize customer experiences and increase e-commerce results, we have become slaves to the algorithm. Fortunately, artificial intelligence opportunities abound and new technologies can be implemented relatively easily. Accenture Interactive's Fjord identified seven trends that will impact your business this year. We are becoming Slaves to the algorithm, as in the new marketing environment, algorithms are taking on the role of gatekeeper between consumers and brands. They are indifferent to all branding efforts that still influence consumers' buying decisions.

Artificial Intelligence may not be taking over the planet just yet, but it is certainly freaking people out in households around the world. Amazon said on Wednesday it was trying to fix a bug that was causing Alexa, the AI assistant in its Echo home speakers, to laugh at random. Some people have said the laughter happened in response to unrelated commands, while others reported it occurred unprompted. "Lying in bed about to fall asleep when Alexa on my Amazon Echo Dot lets out a very loud and creepy laugh... there's a good chance I get murdered tonight," one user tweeted. There are been plenty of dire warnings about AI in recent years.

When you publish an Action for the Google Assistant, you'll be invited to join our developer community program and receive an Assistant t-shirt, plus up to $200 in Google Cloud credit each month for one year. Hit certain product milestones and you'll be eligible for Google Home devices, invitations to exclusive events, mentorship by Googlers, and other rewards!

Imagine if the things around your house could respond to your voice even when you were shouting over a smoke alarm, keep track of each individual wandering through the house, unlock your front door just by identifying your voice, and even identify your emotions. Those are all capabilities that Microsoft is preparing to add to its Project Oxford, a set of cloud-based machine learning services introduced last May at Microsoft's Build conference. Ars took a deep dive on Project Oxford's first wave of machine learning-based services last year. Those services performed a number of image processing and recognition tasks, offered text-to-speech and speech recognition services, and even converted natural language into intent-based commands for applications. The services are the same technology used in Microsoft's Cortana personal assistant and the Skype Translator service, which translates voice calls in six languages (and text messages in 50 languages) in real-time.

Over the past three years, building intelligent apps -- apps powered by machine learning that continuously improve as they ingest new data -- has become easier and easier. Given the continued rise of machine learning, where are venture capitalists looking for the next set of investment opportunities? Generally, we see the core machine learning tools and building block services maturing, and now we are most interested in companies that are "moving up" the stack toward vertical applications, "moving down" the stack toward purpose-built hardware, and "moving out" of the data center toward intelligence at the edge. Here are four categories which we have been investing in and tracking closely because we believe they will play meaningful parts in the future of intelligent apps. As machine learning becomes more prevalent, cloud providers have raced to offer the latest GPUs for training machine learning models.

As a result, the field can lag behind when it comes to adopting the latest digital or IoT technologies. Patient privacy is a major issue, so all new technologies must be adopted carefully while adhering to various data compliance obligations that apply both to companies in general as well as healthcare organisations specifically. Managing clinics and hospitals is complex, and it's expensive. Many healthcare organizations rely on multiple computer and networking systems. Through smart bracelets, administrators can better track patient movement, and they can determine how often patients meet with their doctors.

Not too long ago, people got creeped out by Amazon's Alexa devices randomly laughing at them. Now Jeff Bezos' digital assistant is offering folks the chance to put a sock in its mouth. Reddit users first noticed that when asked to turn light on, Alexa would complete the task and then append the exchange by saying it'd be the last time it would use a verbal confirmation. Instead, it'd beep upon a task's completion from that point forward, noting that this was a new feature called "Brief Mode" that'd curtail its speech. That was with a first-gen Echo.

Asking Alexa to do something results in a vocal response (unless she's lost her voice), but that's not always really necessary and Amazon is experimenting with replacing Alexa's voice with other sounds to convey a response. As The Verge reports, the change in Alexa's behavior was first discussed on Reddit. One user explained that, after asking Alexa to turn on the lights, she gave the usual "OK" response, but went on to say it would be the last time she would. In future, a beep sound would replace the "OK." It's this switch to non-speech responses that Amazon is calling Brief Mode.

Smart speakers have become one of the hottest markets in consumer tech. Amazon Echos and Google Homes were among the most popular gifts this past holiday season, and that sales bump solidified Amazon as the leader in the space. Apple has since struggled to catch up, with its recently launched HomePod, but other hardware makers have rushed to get in on the hype, integrating Alexa and Google Assistant into their own headphones, wearables, and speakers. Each of the three big smart-speaker platforms includes its own integrated music player--Amazon Prime Music, Google Play Music, and Apple Music. But for 159 million music lovers, another app is their player of choice: Spotify.