The adoption of AI in business and society is being spurred on by tech giants with resources to design, build and roll out services affordable and simple enough for everyday use. Microsoft is one of those at the forefront. This year, the words "artificial intelligence" appeared in a vision statement for the first time, reaffirming that smart, learning machines are considered central to everything they do. While it may only just be beginning to shout about it, Microsoft has been building intelligent functionality into many of its products and services for some time. If you regularly use Skype, Office 365, Cortana or Bing, you have probably come across them.

Google's AlphaGo defeated Chinese Go player Ke Jie (left) this year to become the world champion. Google's AlphaGo may have unseated Ke Jie as the Go world champion this year, but the artificial intelligence behind AlphaGo is actually no smarter than a 6-year-old child. A study published Saturday showed Google's artificial intelligence technology scored best out of 50 systems that Chinese researchers tested against an AI scale they created, CNBC reported Monday. With a IQ score of 47.28, Google's AI was almost twice as smart as Apple virtual assistant Siri, which scored 23.94. AI systems have developed so quickly that they've been able to act as assistants, take exams and even outperform us at strategy games.

Four new features that make Google Home a better connected speaker than it was--but it still has growing pains, reports USA TODAY's Jefferson Graham on Talking Tech. A link has been sent to your friend's email address. A link has been posted to your Facebook feed. Four new features that make Google Home a better connected speaker than it was--but it still has growing pains, reports USA TODAY's Jefferson Graham on Talking Tech.

Makes me feel sad for the rest. Actually, that's a movie ("The Spy that Loved Me") that Netflix recommends for me since I'm a James Bond junkie and Netflix knows that. In fact, Netflix knows a lot about me as it knows a lot about all of its viewers, which is one reason why Netflix is a Wall Street darling and has rewarded its stockholders very well over the past couple of years (see Figure 1). But Netflix isn't doing anything that other organizations cannot do. To replicate Netflix's business success starts with thinking differently about the role of data and analytics in powering the organization's business.

Voice assistants from Apple, Google and Microsoft might help a person keep up their life organized, but a new research paper shows the technologies have an IQ that's less than a six-year-old's. Out of all the different voice assistants, Google's and Baidu's artificial intelligence technology were smarter, researchers said. However, they're not as smart as a six-year-old, who has an IQ of 55.5. "[...] The artificial intelligence systems produced by Google, Baidu, and others have significantly improved over the past two years but still have certain gaps as compared with even a six-year-old child," the researchers wrote in the paper. Google's artificial intelligence technology had an IQ of 47.28, Chinese AI technology Baidu followed with 32.92.

Columnist Ed Baig reviews Pixel, which features the high-IQ Google Assistant and a competitive, high-end smartphone camera. The Google logo is seen at the company's headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. Google said Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, it is ending its so-called "first click free," a policy loathed by many publishers and media because it required a limited amount of free content from them before readers could be subjected to a paywall. The next Pixel phones are coming, and Google wants you to know they're hoping to leave competitors -- namely two glossy, recently launched rivals from Samsung and Apple -- in the dust. Weeks ahead of Wednesday's expected launch, Google teased the devices in YouTube and TV promo videos that asked, "What's wrong with my phone's battery? Why does my phone take so many blurry photos? Why doesn't my phone understand me? Why is my smartphone so dumb?"

Walmart has accidentally leaked details of Google's new $49 mini smart speaker and Pixel 2 handset just hours before they are expected to be launched. The shopping giant accidentally put a preorder page for the'Google Home Mini' revealing its fabric covered design. The images also revealed a fresh look at Google's Pixel 2 handset - even though both products are not being officially unveiled until tomorrow. The $49 Google Home Mini is a smaller version of Google's Home speaker, featuring the same Google Assistant software. Walmart's site describes the speaker as a'powerful little helper' that gives you answers to questions, controls your smart home, shares weather info, and even plays music.

If there was any doubt that Google's October 4th event will include a miniature Home speaker, Walmart just erased it. The big-box retailer briefly posted a listing for the Google Home Mini that not only shows off the puck-like Assistant device, but gives an idea of what to expect when it launches. The Mini will reportedly ship around October 19th for $49, and you might not even have to pay that much. You see, Walmart has an tie-in with Google Express that cuts $25 off the price of orders until January 15th. That means you could be paying as little as $24 -- not bad for a brand new alternative to the Echo Dot.

Cast your vote for our NFL Power Rankings, via our Sports section: Our football experts rank the NFL teams from 1-32 every Tuesday, and now we want you to do the same. Check out their rankings, then submit your own and compare! 10 a.m. Dive back into the world of The Da Vinci Code and see what we thought of the fifth installment in the series. See our NCAA Bowl predictions, via our Sports section: USA TODAY Sports' Erick Smith projects the match-ups for every NCAA football bowl game. Google Pixel and Home 2 reveal, via Facebook Live: We'll be in San Francisco where the new iPhone rival Pixel 2 and Amazon Echo rival Google Home 2 will be introduced.

February 8, 2017 Written by: Susan C. Daffron Imagine what would happen if you decreased your customer support training time by 96 percent. What would that mean for your business? That's exactly what happened when Volume Ltd. switched to using the IBM Watson Conversation API to help deliver training for their employees. The time to conduct training to team members that support Volume's applications dropped from one hour to two minutes. Based in the heart of the UK's Silicon Valley, Volume Ltd. began as a business-to-business marketing services agency that provides digital content and customized technologies.