But have you met Sara? Sure, she can do basic tasks, like help you find a movie that you might like to watch, or match you with someone you should meet at an event. But behind the scenes, she's also watching your expressions, assessing your emotions, determining the strength of your budding relationship, and adjusting her approach to form a lasting bond. Sara is actually "SARA," the Socially Aware Robot Assistant, a prototype virtual assistant created by Carnegie Mellon University researchers in a larger quest to use machine learning to better understand human behavior and personalize user experiences. The idea is "to build systems that remind us of what we care most about -- that sustain and scaffold and protect those aspects of being human that are really important, like relationships," said professor Justine Cassell, an associate dean in CMU's School of Computer Science and a specialist in human-computer interaction. It's one piece of an initiative called "Project InMind."

Toronto-based Zoom.AI has now found a major partner in Microsoft, as the company announces its integration into Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Office 365. Users of Microsoft Teams and Office 365 will now have access to Zoom.AI's automated assistant without having to leave their respective platforms, with services ranging from automating tasks like booking meetings, to finding information within applications and managing documents. The AI assistant can learn a user's daily routines and automate based on that information. "They are very serious about the enterprise software space and continuing to be the larger player there." The company has been working with Microsoft for the last year and a half to add more support to Teams and Office 365.

For years I have followed annual tech predictions from events like Enterprise Connect. And 10 years ago, when Gartner predicted the rise of the robots, I thought they had it all wrong. Fast forward to today: I have Alexa in my kitchen and Cortana on my Windows touchscreen and iPhone. I can even control my pool settings using Alexa and my Apple Watch. Robots are everywhere, and artificial intelligence (AI) will make them even smarter and more impactful.

Microsoft and Xiaomi have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to work closely in cloud computing, AI, and hardware. It has so far been uncommon for a US company to partner with a Chinese company on artificial intelligence, but it definitely makes sense as both countries are the biggest markets for those products and services. Microsoft is planning to allow Xiaomi to use its cloud computing products, including Azure, to develop upgraded phones, laptops, and smart devices to bring them to an international market. At the same time, the partnership will also give Microsoft more reach and access to the Chinese market. The two are also in discussions about possibly integrating Microsoft Cortana with the Mi AI speaker, a budget speaker with a modern look.

It's a widely accepted fact--at least in my circle of recent college grads--that Tinder, and the world of online dating writ large, is a wasteland. The lure of carefully curated profiles, relative anonymity, and endless swiping seem to bring out the worst behavior--catfishing, terrible bios, and misogyny abound. And even when motives are pure, the nagging idea that there's a better match one swipe away tends to make Tinder interactions feel like placeholders. This, combined with the fact that men swipe right on anything that moves (meaning women are forced to second-guess every single one of their matches), makes the entire situation feel like a huge time suck with little chance of romantic reward. An Oxford study revealed that about half of conversations between matches were one-sided, meaning the other person never responded.

Analyst Gartner put out a 10-strong listicle this week identifying what it dubbed "high-impact" uses for AI-powered features on smartphones that it suggests will enable device vendors to provide "more value" to customers via the medium of "more advanced" user experiences. It's also predicting that, by 2022, a full 80 per cent of smartphones shipped will have on-device AI capabilities, up from just 10 per cent in 2017. More on-device AI could result in better data protection and improved battery performance, in its view -- as a consequence of data being processed and stored locally. Its full list of apparently enticing AI uses is presented (verbatim) below. But in the interests of presenting a more balanced narrative around automation-powered UXes we've included some alternative thoughts after each listed item which consider the nature of the value exchange being required for smartphone users to tap into these touted'AI smarts' -- and thus some potential drawbacks too.

The way you control Apple's smart speaker, the HomePod, is pretty cool. You just talk to it. But Siri, Apple's voice assistant, can't make the speaker do much beyond the basics and can only summon music from Apple-owned cloud services. That sets it behind the other products in the voice-activated speaker race--most notably those from Amazon or Google--which are capable, flexible, and largely platform-neutral when it comes to streaming. It's too bad Siri can't play internet radio or the deep cuts from your local MP3 library, because the speaker itself sounds absolutely amazing.

We may not have to wait much longer before immortality becomes a reality. Swedish scientists believe that artificial intelligence can be harnessed to create'fully conscious copies' of our loved ones after they die, according to Sputnik News. Scientists are looking for volunteers who are willing to offer up their dead relatives for the study. They would use AI to reconstruct the voices of those who've died to allow family members to communicate with their deceased loved ones. Swedish scientists may be working to build'fully conscious copies' of relatives who have died.

In July, Chinese tech giant Xiaomi jumped into the smart speaker race with its answer to Amazon's Alexa and Google Home, the $45 Mi AI -- though it probably won't find its way to American shores, given how had a time it's had penetrating the US and European markets. Today, the company made a different move with artificial intelligence, signing a deal with Microsoft to partner up on projects involving AI, cloud computing and hardware to help the device company expand into other markets. As part of the Memorandum of Understanding, Xiaomi will harness Microsoft's Azure cloud platform to expand services for its users, including data storage and bandwidth. The American tech company will consult the Chinese tech giant on joint marketing and channel support to get Xiaomi's laptops into new international markets. And, of course, partnering will give Microsoft access to Xiaomi's users across the world.

It's 2018 and robots have officially taken over--or at least they're in charge while they roam around our floors, picking up everything from dirt to pet hair. Like most technology, robot vacuums are there to make our lives a little bit easier with scheduled cleanings at the press of a button--some even have smartphone apps. This makes those weekly (or monthly, we don't judge) deep, whole-house cleanings less strenuous and time consuming. Although robot vacuums can't completely replace the trusty handheld vacuum--yet--our readers are buying them like hotcakes (or whatever the vacuum equivalent is). Here are the top robot vacuums our readers have been buying lately.