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 Personal Assistant Systems


Why Microsoft needs to unify the many faces of Cortana

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Microsoft has waxed and waned in the past between a single, unified UI design for its apps and services to more tailored ones that better fit into specific platforms. This shift in design philosophy was expressed profoundly in Skype, which for many years looked like the PC desktop version, then shifted countless times with various changes in design. To be fair, the approach of tailoring something like Cortana for Android is welcome. While Microsoft idealists believe the company should turn Android into a pseudo-Windows Phone with Live tiles, cooler heads have prevailed. Instead, Microsoft's apps for Android embrace Google's design choices to blend in better.


Apple's ยฃ319 HomePod smart speaker goes on sale

Daily Mail - Science & tech

'We made it': Mother describes giving birth in hospital hallway The wireless 7in smart speaker uses spatial awareness technology to sense its place in a room and adjust audio output accordingly.


Code suggests Google Assistant will come to all Chromebooks

Engadget

If you want Google Assistant on a Chromebook, you currently have exactly one option: Google's own $1,700 Pixelbook. It looks like Google's about to unleash its voice helper on any ChromeOS device, however, if code spotted by XDA Developers is implemented. In a recent ChromeOS built, there's a new feature that will let manufacturers enable Google Assistant (by default, it's off). According to another part of the code, OEMs will be able to decide whether it listens for a keywords or is activated simply by a button press. Google Assistant code for ChromeOS has been spotted before, but this is the first time we've seen a reference to a code commit.


Merging human and machine intelligence - Tech News The Star Online

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As technology becomes indispensable from everyday life, humanity and tech will merge to the point they are indistinguishable, predicts communication and marketing firm PHD. Its research into the forces shaping marketing's future produced Merge: The Closing Gap Between Technology And Us, a documentary and book on how technology and human evolution had progressed since the 1950s and how technological advances over the next 25 to 35 years would reshape society and the marketing industry. The research drew on experts' insights and foresights, including inventor and author Ray Kurzweil, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, futurologist Dr Ian Pearson and Microsoft UK chief envisioning officer Dave Coplin. PHD Malaysia head Eileen Ooi said the year ahead would bring a host of new technologies that would challenge the industry but also present new opportunities for those willing to invest in innovation and take a bold first step. She cited four key trends: chatbots, sentient virtual personal assistants, next wave of wearables, and intelligent data layers that give you additional info when viewing things.


How to Get Free Crypto & Say Hello to the Siri of Crypto

#artificialintelligence

Create your own unique apartment in sandbox.mark.space To take part in the Contest, participants with a registered account on the MARK.SPACE platform, who purchased MRK tokens starting February 9, 2018, must register on the Internet via: sandbox.mark.space To apply through the Unisender form, the participant must provide their login email address and a link from the browser which directs to the virtual apartments hosted on the MARK.SPACE platform. IMPORTANT When registering with sandbox.markspace.io, the participant must enter the same email which is the login in the user's Dashboard on the site ico.markspace.io In the event of winning the Challenge, it is necessary to pass the KYC procedure to receive prizes.


AIs have replaced aliens as our greatest world-destroying fear

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In 2004, while conducting training exercises over the Pacific Ocean, two US Navy pilots reported something extraordinary: a mysterious, blindingly fast flying object that caused the sea to boil, rotated mid-air, and could fly more than 60 miles in under a minute, despite having no visible means of propulsion. The episode was just one of many investigated by a highly secretive Department of Defense program that ran from 2007 to 2012 and was championed by a handful of US Senators. A New York Times report on the program mentioned a clandestine government warehouse in Nevada that may or may not be storing "alien alloys" recovered from similar flying objects. Once upon a time, rumors and revelations like these would have sent the public into a frenzy. They would have joined Roswell and Area 51 in the pantheon of UFO-conspiracy chatter.


TGI Fridays looks to AI for app retention - Digiday

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TGI Fridays is using artificial intelligence to do everything from power chatbots to personalize service at locations. The chain is particularly focused on how AI can keep app users. From May to November 2017, TGI Fridays used "predictive churn" tech to predict when a user would leave the app after signing in, then target users that were likely to leave soon with offers based on their past orders. TGI Fridays sent push notifications encouraging these users to make another purchase. When a user tapped on a push notification, they would be brought into the TGI Fridays app, where they could edit their order and pay with one tap.


How cutting-edge hotels use artificial intelligence for a great guest experience

#artificialintelligence

In the 21st century, industries that resist integrating new technologies often lose their competitive edge. Businesses across the globe have realized how important it is to include contemporary digital technology to drive constant growth and revenue. The last decade has seen incredible innovations and breakthroughs in the landscape of digital solutions. One of such compelling technologies is Artificial Intelligence (AI). Often misconceived as simply a replacement for human power, the concept of AI as a technological aid is more pervasive.


Amazon's Alexa Now Offering Indiana Travel Advisories

U.S. News

Simply say: "Alexa, ask Indiana for travel advisories." The device will then ask which county the information is needed for. Alexa will report back if there is an advisory, a watch or a warning issued.


App guesses your emotions to target you with adverts

New Scientist

If so, you probably won't want your phone to suggest a slasher movie or a thrash metal album. An app that works out how you are feeling could allow recommendation systems to only make suggestions that chime with that mood. Called MoodExplorer, the app has been designed by Wenzhong Li at Nanjing University, China, and his colleagues. They say that assessing someone's mood from moment to moment has been a key factor missing from personalised recommendation engines, often leading to inappropriate suggestions that people simply dismiss.