In 2014, user data on OkCupid showed that most men on the site rated black women as less attractive than women of other races and ethnicities. That resonated with Ari Curtis, 28, and inspired her blog, Least Desirable. In 2014, user data on OkCupid showed that most men on the site rated black women as less attractive than women of other races and ethnicities. That resonated with Ari Curtis, 28, and inspired her blog, Least Desirable. I usually like "bears," but no "panda bears."

When it comes to smart speakers, the Amazon Echo is still in the lead. Much of this success is due to the Echo's built-in voice-controlled intelligent virtual assistant, Alexa. Amazon has revealed that they're getting ready to bring Alexa outside of the Echo. Ahead of this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Amazon announced a new tool kit called the Alexa Mobile Accessory Kit that will allow developers "to bring Alexa to portable, on-the-go devices such as hearables, headphones, smart watches, fitness devices, and more." Alexa has made quite a name for itself in the health industry through the Echo, and the company has also been working on smart glasses powered by Alexa.

Emotion artificial intelligence (AI) systems are becoming so sophisticated that Gartner, Inc. predicts that by 2022, personal devices will know more about an individual's emotional state than his or her own family. AI is generating multiple disruptive forces that are reshaping the way we interact with personal technologies. "Emotion AI systems and affective computing are allowing everyday objects to detect, analyze, process and respond to people's emotional states and moods to provide better context and a more personalized experience," said Roberta Cozza, research director at Gartner. "To remain relevant, technology vendors must integrate AI into every aspect of their devices, or face marginalization." The current wave of emotion AI systems is being driven by the proliferation of virtual personal assistants (VPAs) and other AI-based technology for conversational systems.

Today, consumers can quickly order the product they want from their mobile devices or digital assistants (such as Amazon Alexa). These technologies have drastically reduced the time from impulse to buying for a consumer. However, the trade finance and international supply chain that is critical to completing the fulfillment cycle has not yet caught up with the pace of our digital consumers. It is complex, slow, and ripe for digital disruption -- 200 documents including contracts, customs clearance, and shipping are involved and exchanged among the supply chain entities, according to Maersk, the global transportation and logistics giant. Disruption is here: the confluence of three digital technologies -- big data, artificial intelligence, and blockchain -- have the potential to drastically reduce the complexities of trade finance and international supply chains.

Lenovo has announced a new Smart Display device with Google Assistant built in at CES 2018. The device is seen as an Amazon Echo Show competitor and is Google's first official smart speaker device that comes with a touchscreen. The Lenovo Smart Display with Google Assistant comes is in 8-inch and 10-inch screen size variants. The 8-inch model comes with an HD screen resolution, while the bigger model comes with a Full HD screen resolution. The two models pretty much look the same, but the 8-inch model comes with a light gray color scheme, while the 10-inch model is white with a bamboo pattern on its back panel, according to Ars Technica.

Together, these technologies can provide critical data about customers' experience with products, provide information for customers to take action on, and more. As companies gather and use this data, they can provide better customer experience but also help to develop new products or features in next-generation products. Ultimately, Leary said, this new influx of product, usage and customer data is about creating a new customer experience. Leary used the example of a smart refrigerator whose temperature and be adjusted automatically, or have a broken part sent out to the customer, even before he is aware that the part is malfunctioning. It also enables companies to gather new information about product usage that can enhance customer relationships or product development.

Imagine this: When you leave the house, your air conditioner and lights turn off automatically. Then when a motion sensor detects a person in the house, like your house cleaner, and it sends an alert to your phone. When you arrive home, a camera recognizes who you are and the door automatically unlocks. Automated technologies like these will be at the forefront of CES, one of the world's largest tech conventions, this week in Las Vegas. They underline one major trend: Increasingly, the innovations that are making their way into your personal technology aren't physical electronics or gadgets at all.

With the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas just around the corner, market researcher Steve Koenig weighs in on the proliferation of AI, the importance of 5G and Germany's presence at the world's largest trade show. The 2018 edition of the Consumer Electronics Show is upon us: From January 9-12, 170,000 attendees from more than 150 countries are expected to descend upon Las Vegas to catch a glimpse of the latest technology that will shape our future. Since the first show, held in New York in 1967 with 117 exhibitors and 17,500 attendees, CES has grown by more than 10-fold, and now encompasses both traditional and non-traditional tech industries. DW reporter Benjamin Bathke spoke with Consumer Technology Association (CTA) senior director of market research Steve Koenig about AI applications across industries, when VR will finally become mainstream and the deployment of self-driving mobility services. DW: What can the world expect of CES 2018?

It's a not-so-classic story – you fall in love, but she does not, because she is a robot. A number of Chinese dating apps have been shut down after an investigation on dating apps fraud discovered that women on their platforms were actually AI computer programs, it's reported. According to Modern Newspaper, the mobile apps involve 21 companies. Police in southern Guangdong province said they have arrested more than 600 suspects operating across 13 provinces, including Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou and Shenzhen, after finding out that some messages and answers from some "sexy women", which customers will have to pay extra to chat with, were from AI computer programs instead. The programs usually targeted newly registered users and generated greeting messages or compliments to them from fake accounts.

The annual consumer electronics show has been dominated by Asian tech giants Samsung, LG and Sony in recent years, along with a trade show floor featuring thousands of startups hoping lightning strikes with some Las Vegas-style luck. What you historically don't see at CES are the U.S.-based tech giants Apple, Amazon or Google, which tend to show off their new products at their own heavily produced media events later in the year. But CES 2018, which kicks off with events Sunday, will have a big presence from Google as it continues its push to take on Amazon's Echo connected speaker. More: How to choose the best smart speaker for you: shopper's guide The Las Vegas Monorail, which takes delegates to and from CES and city hotels, is splattered with a huge "Hey Google," advertisement, one of the two "wake words," people use to pose queries to the Google Assistant, most notably on the Google Home speaker. Google also has a large "Hey Google," booth right outside the Las Vegas Convention Center.