Artificial intelligence may one day surpass human intelligence. But, if designed right, it may also be used to enhance human cognition. Tom Gruber, one of the inventors of the artificial intelligence voice interface Siri that now lives inside iPhones and the macOS operating system, shared a new idea at the TED 2017 conference today for using artificial intelligence to augment human memory. "What if you could have a memory that was as good as computer memory and is about your life?" Gruber asked the audience. "What if you could remember every person you ever met? The last conversation you had with them?" Gruber said he thinks that using artificial intelligence to catalog our experiences and to enhance our memory isn't just a wild idea -- it's inevitable.

Intelligent machines of the future will help restore memory, mind your children, fetch your coffee and even care for ageing parents. It will all be part of a brave new world of the not-so-distant future, in which innovative smart machines, rather than being the undoing of people - as some technophobes have long feared - actually enhance humans. Many experts say technology will allow people to take on tasks they might only have dreamed of in the past. "Super-intelligence should give us superhuman abilities," said Tom Gruber, head of the team responsible for Apple's Siri digital assistant, during an on-stage talk at the prestigious TED Conference in Vancouver. "Artificial intelligence can enable partnerships where each human on the team is doing what they do best," he told the popular technology conference. Gruber, a co-creator of Siri and artificial intelligence research at Apple, told of being drawn to the field three decades ago by the potential for technology to meet people's needs.

Amazon has just unveiled the Echo Look, the latest addition to its range of voice-enabled assistants. Unlike its predecessors, the Look is equipped with a camera, which means it can watch, as well as listen to, its users. It sounds potentially creepy, but the company is marketing the Echo Look as a sort of fashion assistant, and says the device can be used to help you choose an outfit. "Get a live view in the Echo Look app or ask Alexa to take a short video so you can see yourself from every angle," says Amazon. You can also get it to take a full-body picture of you by saying "Alexa, take a picture".

Google Assistant is already a great help in the kitchen when we need to convert something from pints to cups or remember to buy eggs on our next shopping trip. In a feature rolling out to users just in time for Mother's Day, Google Home will now provide step-by-step instructions to more than 5 million recipes from Bon Appétit, the New York Times, Food Network, and more. And you can even listen to music while doing it. The new system isn't quite as simple as saying, "OK, Google, tell me how to cook coq au vin," but it's pretty close. To find a recipe, you'll need to use Google Assistant or Google search to find what you want to cook.

Devices like Google Home are great for use in the kitchen. They're powered by artificial intelligence-backed smart assistants that can help with simple queries like how many teaspoons are in a tablespoon or even provide full recipes for delicious meals. Google Home is now much better at helping out in the kitchen. Google today announced that it has increased the number of recipes available on Google Assistant, which powers Google Home, to more than 5 million. Google Home users can access this massive library of recipes which coves more than 5 million meals by simply issuing voice commands to the device.

Driving long distances (or using New York City's subway system) used to be a much more complicated affair, generally requiring maps, a sense of direction, some luck and the occasional stop to ask questions of strangers. Turn-by-turn navigation apps have changed all that: You may still take a wrong turn along the way, but the apps usually get you back on track with little fuss. Self-service integration specialist SnapLogic is turning to artificial intelligence (AI) to help its customers achieve that sort of turn-by-turn navigation when it comes to enterprise integration. Citing GPS navigation and digital home assistants like Amazon's Alexa, SnapLogic Founder and CEO Gaurav Dhillon says the company's new technology, Iris, will eliminate the integration backlog that stifles so many technology initiatives through the use of AI to automate highly repetitive, low-level development tasks. "Companies can't innovate and transform their businesses if they're bogged down in rote, repetitive tasks that don't do much for the organization," Doug Henschen, vice president and principal analyst at Constellation Research, said in a statement last week.

Amazon has unveiled the Echo Look, a new voice-controlled selfie camera pitched as the ultimate bedroom companion that allows AI assistant Alexa to give you fashion tips and tell you what to wear. The camera, which is available by invitation only in the US costing $200 (£156), stands on a shelf armed with four LEDs for lighting, a depth-sensing system and a microphone array to receive commands just like Amazon's other Alexa-powered Echo and Echo Dot. The camera uses the depth information to produce "computer vision-based" blurred backgrounds so you can apparently look your best in full-length selfies. It will also capture video, so you can give your audience a twirl in your finery. But Echo Look is more than just a glorified Echo Dot with a camera, says Amazon.

Google has been rapidly adding new features to its Home connected speaker recently, and the latest will be handy for chefs. Google Home can now read out recipes step-by-step -- but it sounds like you'll need to kick off the process using your smartphone. According to a blog post that went up today, Home will be able to read back more than 5 million recipes from sites like All Recipes, Food Network, Bon Appetit, the New York Times and more. First, though, you'll need to find the recipe you want on your phone using either the Google Assistant on Android or Google search on your iPhone. From there, you'll find a new "send to Google Home" button, provided you have one set up of course.

Amazon's Echo smart speakers just went in an unusual (but potentially very helpful) new direction. Meet Echo Look, an Alexa-powered camera designed around taking your own fashion photos and videos. If you want to show off your daily wardrobe, you just have to ask the Look to take a snapshot -- you don't have to take a selfie in front of a mirror to get a full-length picture. And since it includes a depth-sensing camera, it can blur the background to make shots pop. The real party tricks come when you're not sure about your outfit, however.

Amazon just added a new device to its family of voice-enabled speakers: the Echo Look, which includes a built-in camera for taking photos and recording video. The new device is available through Amazon's website on an invitation-only basis for $200. The company is pushing the Echo Look as a fashion tool that can help users choose their outfits. The depth-sensing camera is capable of taking full-length images and can blur the background of a photo to place more emphasis on clothing choices. Since it includes a microphone array and speaker just like Amazon's other Echos, owners will be able to capture a shot just by saying, "Alexa, take a photo."