"Hey, Siri! Find the nearest sushi restaurant." New technologies are emerging and showing up in our everyday lives at a rapid rate. Voice-recognition, like Apple's Siri or Amazon's Alexa, and image recognition in our Facebook and Google accounts are just two mainstream applications that leverage artificial intelligence (AI)--one of the newest technologies gaining widespread momentum today. Artificial intelligence (AI) is defined by the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence as "the scientific understanding of the mechanism underlying thought and intelligent behavior and their embodiment in machines." It is one of the Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2016 chosen by the World Economic Forum, based on the power to improve lives, transform industries, and safeguard the planet.

There's a popular perception out there that most people, particularly office workers, are concerned that artificial intelligence (AI) is coming for their jobs. After all, more and more simple tasks in the workplace have become automated -- from daily reminders to finding and editing electronic documents. But are the office workers themselves truly worried that robots will take away jobs? In our new report The Future of Work: More than a Machine, we surveyed more 4,000 office workers across the U.S., U.K., and Germany and asked them about how technology is changing their jobs, especially advanced technology like AI, and how confident they feel about keeping their jobs in the future. The study suggests that instead of being anxious about technology taking over their jobs, office workers are optimistic about how it can boost productivity and work for them.

Jeff Bezos might be the world's biggest Star Trek fan. At one point, the Amazon founder and CEO wanted to call his e-commerce platform makeitso.com, in reference to Captain Jean-Luc Picard's catchphrase. In 2016, after years of begging Paramount Pictures, Bezos made a cameo as an alien Starfleet official in Star Trek Beyond. So, when Amazon set out to build the AI assistant Alexa, Bezos envisioned finally realising the Star Trek computer - a benign, omniscient assistant, available everywhere. "We really did think of it as the Star Trek computer, where it was ambient and you could simply say: 'Computer, beam me up,'" says Mike George, Amazon's vice president of Echo, Alexa and Appstore. Clad in a black v-neck jumper and jeans, the 20-year Amazon veteran has a booming laugh and a vague resemblance to both Bezos and Picard. George bounds into the office, all unwavering eye contact, full-body laughs and wrist-crunching high fives, his preferred form of greeting. I meet him, and most of the Alexa executive team, on an upper floor of Amazon's skyscraper, Day 1, in the Denny Triangle in downtown Seattle. From here, on a blue-sky morning, the Space Needle is dwarfed by the snow-capped mountains beyond. Both seem like inconsequential theatrical set pieces to the Amazon empire below.

Advances in artificial intelligence mean computers can now use machine prediction to learn and make decisions on their own, opening the door to a new wave of automation and the threat of computers taking over jobs or at least augmenting human capabilities in ways we can't fully anticipate. "This isn't something that we want to look at five years from now, because it would be way too late," says Noel Webb, founder of Karen.AI, a recruitment startup. Webb was among a group of AI entrepreneurs who spoke at RBC Disruptors, a monthly forum on technology and how it's changing the way we live and work. He said advancements in AI could have such a broad impact that every company and government needs to have an AI policy. "We're at a really great fork in the road here," Webb said.

Why has AI become one of the most popular topics among marketers? Because it makes our lives easier. And then there's the next question: How can it help? We're facing an invasive amount of information, and we need to be able to process the huge chunks of data now available to us and make the best use of them. Yet, in most cases, we are at a loss, and the only easy way is to go by intuition alone.

Allo, Google's beleaguered chat app that arrived on the iPhone and Android devices last year, finally has a web counterpart. Just a few minutes ago, Amit Fulay (head of product for Allo and video chat app Duo) tweeted that Allo for the web was available, but only for Android phones. To give it a go, you'll need to open the Allo app on your device and use that to scan a QR code you can generate at this link. Once you've scanned the code, Allo pulls up your chat history and mirrors all the conversations you have on your phone. Most of Allo's key features, including smart replies, emoji, stickers and most importantly the Google Assistant are all intact here.

Most people don't realize that they're likely exposed to AI each and every time they shop online -- whether it's on eBay, Nordstrom.com, When you are searching for an item and a merchandising strip appears saying something like "similar items" -- that's AI in its simplest terms. It's what gives retailers the ability to automatically make informed recommendations. AI has been around for many years, but recent advancements have moved AI out of the realm of science fiction and made it a business imperative. The game changers: powerful new GPUs, dedicated hardware, new algorithms, and platforms for deep learning.

Artificial intelligence (AI) technology has exploded in recent years. Common AI personal assistants such as Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant are helping people figure out their daily schedules, controlling the lights and thermostats in homes, and helping commuters find the best route to work. And while these recent advancements are amazing, they're really only a sneak preview of how AI can and will impact society as a whole. Sales efficiency is an area ripe for AI assistance – AI is at the point where it can be just as useful, if not more useful, in the office than at home on one's handheld device. Business AI has evolved from being a sophisticated calculator or database analyzer to an entity that can tell businesses solve their biggest challenges and enhance their market offerings. Although more organizations spanning industries are tuning into the potential of AI, many are still not capitalizing on its potential to transform their sales practices.

Artificial Intelligence is changing the way we think of technology. It is radically changing the various aspects of our daily life. Companies are now significantly making investments in AI to boost their future businesses. Ericsson, in the sixth edition of its annual trend report, 'The 10 Hot Consumer Trends for 2017 and beyond,' predicts that 35 percent of advanced internet users want an AI advisor at work, and one in four would like an AI as their manager in the next one year. Another study performed by Forrester Research predicted an increase of 300% in investment in AI in the next one year. CXOToday finds out some of the most revolutionary artificial intelligence technologies that will rule in the next 1-2 years.

The Apple HomePod is slated to come out later this year, but it might be difficult to find on store shelves. Limited shipments at launch may give the Siri-powered home speaker a gradual rollout, according to the Nikkei Asian Review. During an earnings conference call Monday, HomePod supplier Inventec Appliances gave further details about the new Apple device's launch schedule. Inventec president David Ho said via the Review that the company is expecting to have a smaller amount of units when the HomePod launches this fall. "We will finally ship the smart home device this year, but its contribution will be fairly limited and hopefully that will improve next year."