A common theme among some of the most notable advances and new devices was the integration of artificial intelligence in smart and innovative ways. Despite a handful of flubs, AI-powered technologies still helped make the world a little smarter, kinder, and more innovative this year. Here are some of the moments when AI really shone in 2017. Earlier this month, NASA announced it used machine learning to discover two new planets. Researchers used old data from the Kepler space telescope to locate the two new additions to our galaxy. This wasn't the first time researchers applied AI to sift through the massive amount of data NASA's telescopes collect, but it is a promising example of how neural networks can find even some of the weakest signs of distant worlds. Thanks to AI, we have now discovered a planetary system that ties our solar system in the number of planets it has, which brings us one step closer to discovering more of the mysteries the giant void around us contains.

No matter how many Amazon Echo commercials you see, it takes a little time to adjust to Alexa. Putting a virtual assistant in your home signals a change in lifestyle, sort of like adopting a puppy. There will be a lot of trial-and-error, but once you find your rhythm, you'll forget what life was like without her. The Amazon Echo listens for the wake word, "Alexa." But, frankly, I was shocked by how many conversations were recorded by my Echo that did not include the wake word. Click here to learn how to listen to everything Amazon Echo has ever heard.

For any media company that's producing and distributing large volumes of content, highly specific metadata is the foundation that other publisher tools will be built upon. Metadata provides a way of finding, identifying and classifying videos thus making them highly searchable and shareable. Using Deep Learning, Vilynx exposes the multi-level intelligence of video assets to enable publishers more efficient content management. Most recommendation systems rely on the relationships between the content in videos to provide appealing suggestions about which other videos you might also want to see. To solve this, some publishers have resorted to semantic analysis of content as well as basic collaborative filters to power content recommendations.

They may be older and wiser, but when it comes to technology sometimes it seems the more senior generation still has a bit to learn. This hilarious but endearing video of an 85-year-old woman trying to use a new Google Home speaker is proof of that. YouTuber Ben Actis uploaded the clip on Wednesday, and since then almost 100,000 people have tuned in to watch his Italian grandmother attempting to work the gadget. After being told she must say'Hey Google' the woman can be heard calling it'goo goo' as she tries to request a song and ask it for a weather forecast. Her strong Italian accent gets in the way slightly but she seems to have a difficult time understanding how to activate the gadget, as she bashes it with her fingers in an attempt to turn it on.

Thanks to ever more rapidly advancing modern technology, we hardly have to move from the comfort of our beds to complete anything from shopping to scheduling appointments. But sometimes it's not all it's cracked up to be, as a series of hilarious viral tweets has proved. From receiving unwanted sex toys through the post, to witnessing rather spooky'flirtations' between an Alexa and a Google Home, perplexed gadget lovers have been sharing their virtual assistants' biggest fails on social media... Modern technology is advanced as ever, but sometimes it's not all it's cracked up to be, as a series of hilarious viral tweets have proved Perhaps the old school way really is the best? A peckish child was left disappointed after their McDonald's order turned out to be a book Things that go bump in the night! Alexa scared her owners when she let out a'ghostly wail' out of nowhere Alexa decided she'd rather turn on a lullaby than the lights... surely making for a rather dark musical experience A tweeter was left embarrassed after Alexa pointed out he didn't have a Porsche, when prompted to turn on the porch lights When add pampers turns to add cancer: One Tweeter was left perplexed by Alexa's apparent hearing impediment Alexa's attempt at initiative was quickly shut down by one owner'Do something': Alexa gave one owner a rather unhelpful #alexafail reminder The comments below have not been moderated.

Amazon's Alexa voice assistant has made it easier than ever to add voice control to thousands of devices. It was only a matter of time before Alexa conquered the car. The new Garmin Speak is a $150 device that integrates Alexa voice recognition into a small, windshield-mounted speaker and display. By blending the ease of talking to Alexa with Garmin's longstanding expertise with in-car navigation, it promises to be simpler than a touchscreen. I spent a month driving with it in both old and new cars to find out.

From shopping to travel to connecting other smart devices, Kim Komando shows you the best commands for Alexa. The Echo dot is a smaller Alexa-powered Amazon speaker. No matter how many Amazon Echo commercials you see, it takes a little time to adjust to Alexa. Putting a virtual assistant in your home signals a change in lifestyle, sort of like adopting a puppy. There will be a lot of trial-and-error, but once you find your rhythm, you'll forget what life was like without it. The Amazon Echo listens for the wake word, Alexa.

In a country with low insurance penetration, AI could be the solution to improve the reach and profitability of insurance companies in India. The last three years have seen a massive upswing in the use of AI across different business verticals. And insurance, being one of the oldest industries, has multiple use-cases that can improve every aspect of business from underwriting to distribution to claim management. Insurers, in India and overseas, are aggressively investing in startups and small teams to unleash the power of AI in insurance. Let us see how AI is and will be disrupting the insurance industry.

SLUG: Everything Happens for a Reason HED: Black Mirror's Dating App Episode is a Perfect--and Heartbreaking--Portrayal of Modern Romance ALT HED: If You're Single, Black Mirror's Dating App Episode Will Break Your Heart DEK: In tackling the nightmarish world of dating apps, Black Mirror's "Hang the DJ" perfectly captures the desperation not only in trusting algorithms to find us a perfect love, but also in trying to date in this era at all. It's an understatement to say that romance took a beating this year. From the inauguration of a president who has confessed on tape to sexual predation, to the explosion of harassment and assault allegations that began this fall, women's confidence in men has reached unprecedented lows--which poses a not-insignificant issue among those who date them. Not that things were all that much better in 2016, or the year before that; Gamergate and the wave of campus assault reporting in recent years certainly didn't get many women in the mood, either. In fact, the past five or so years of dating men might best be described by involved parties as bleak.

Google's AI system assisted researchers in New Zealand in identifying calls of native birds -- Kakariki and Hihi -- using acoustic sensors after sifting through 15,000 hours of audio captured in and around Wellington. The Google Brain team, a core group focused on deep learning, used a trained Tensorflow model to label spectrograms and validate results to classify bird songs in real time. Tensorflow is an open source software for machine learning (ML) developed by the Google Brain team that was launched in 2015. Since then, Google has been running ML on different data sets -- from tracking seacows to diagnosing diabetic retinopathy and other health challenges. Linne Ha, director of Google Research and Machine Intelligence, shared updates on Google's ambitious Project Unison that's attempting to create text-tospeech (TTS) voices for lowresourced languages. There are 6,000 languages globally and 400 of them have over a million speakers.