TL;DR: Machine-driven communications tools are a reality now and artificial intelligence enabled tools will soon dominate the online information space. This paradigm shift isn't limited to artificial personal assistants like Siri and recreational chatbots like Xiaoice. It refers to machine-driven communication overwhelming Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Match, Reddit, chat rooms, news site comment sections, and the rest of the social web. All of it will be dominated by machines talking. This machine communication will be nearly indistinguishable from human communication. The machines will be trying to persuade, sell, deceive, intimidate, manipulate, and cajole you into whatever response they're programmed to elicit. They will be unbelievably effective. Machine-driven communication is here now. Advances in artificial intelligence will radically increase the efficacy of machine-driven communication tools. A machine-dominated information environment is a rational extrapolation of current technology trends into the near future.

What do consumers think about artificial intelligence (AI)? That's the central question asked by two separate, recently released studies. As it turns out, a similar picture emerges in "What Consumers Really Think About AI: A Global Study," by Pegasystems, a provider of customer relationship management and business process management software, and in "The State of Artificial Intelligence, 2017: Public Perceptions of the Most Disruptive Technology," by sales acceleration platform InsideSales. In short: some consumers are fine with AI but many are nervous, even fearful. By and large, they don't quite recognize how they're already using it.

The following post highlights how Venture Scanner categorizes the Artificial Intelligence (AI) startup landscape, and presents our Innovation Quadrant showing how those categories compare to one another. The data for this post is through April 2017. The above sector map organizes the sector into 13 categories and shows a sampling of companies in each category. Our Innovation Quadrant provides a snapshot of the average funding and average age for the different AI categories and how they compare with one another. Computer Vision / Image Recognition (Applications): Companies that utilize technology that process images in vertically specific use cases.

Artificial intelligence is one of the most exciting scientific developments in human history. Only a decade ago, AI was a far-fetched fairy tale. Advancements in deep learning have propelled AI enthusiasts' wildest dreams into reality. In fact, artificial intelligence is already a part of our everyday lives, whether it be in the form of your email app that learns what messages you frequently trash or the digital assistant tracking your speech patterns. AI is more than a passing fad or unfortunate bubble.

Samsung's Galaxy S8 is finally here, and it's a looker. The South Korean company's phone packs a gorgeous edge-to-edge curved screen, a beefed-up front-facing camera, a top-of-the-line processor, and a new virtual assistant powered by artificial intelligence. But like many devices of the Galaxy S8's caliber, not every feature is easy to use -- or find. Luckily, we've spent enough time with the Galaxy S8 to get a handle on a few of its most useful functions. Here's what you need to know. Bixby, Samsung's new AI-powered assistant, is a tap away from every screen.

In addition to compelling keynote speakers, the Business Insider IGNITION 2016 conference included panels of experts who shared their deep, insightful knowledge. One such panel included Dennis Mortensen, CEO and founder of x.ai; Michael Roberts, head of Messenger at Kik Interactive; and Alex Wellen, chief product officer at CNN. They sat down at IGNITION 2016 to discuss smart bots and how they're affecting life as we know it. CNN is focused on making news available using bots. With the use of voice-activated digital assistants such as Alexa, Siri, and Cortana, news can be delivered in new ways.

BUZ INVESTORS Artificial Intelligence Science fiction has long cautioned us that the rise of artificial intelligence will likely mean the end of humanity. The Matrix, Terminator, Blade Runner…the list goes on. But in the real world, while some are concerned about artificial intelligence in 2017, analysts see huge potential in the industry for some key AI companies. In fact, AI technology will be a key driver of some of the biggest tech companies as it continues to develop. And the AI wars have only just begun.

Intelligent personal assistants have the real potential to transform our daily lives in the nearest future. At least this is what Gartner says in its report on the Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2017. For businesses, this means an excellent opportunity to refine their offers and improve customer experience, providing smarter and more effective ways to handle routine tasks. The great thing about Intelligent apps is that they can become integrated with almost every area of a customer's life. Over the last few years, more and more smart connected devices have been hitting the market, and all these gadgets are usually augmented with digital conversational interfaces.

On Thursday, Facebook launched a new digital assistant named "M" that works within Messenger for users in the US. It includes artificial intelligence (AI) to make suggestions to users. M launched in 2015, and was tested on a small percentage of users, and it has now been expanded to all iOS and Android users in the US and will eventually roll out to other countries. There are 1 billion Facebook Messenger users monthly. There is already competition among AI-powered digital assistants, with Google's Allo messaging app, and the upcoming Galaxy S8 including a Samsung-developed digital assistant named Bixby.

Forget finding the perfect lighting to snap a selfie, Adobe is using AI and machine learning to create the ultimate portrait. Powered by Adobe Sensei, the app combines perspective effect editing, automatic software-only photo masking and photo style transfer technology. The system transforms a bad image into a flattering selfie by altering the perspective of the person's face, adding depth of field and replicating styles of other photos online. Forget finding the perfect lighting to snap a selfie, Adobe is using AI and machine learning to create the ultimate portrait.Powered by Adobe Sensei, the app combines perspective effect editing, automatic software-only photo masking and photo style transfer technology Adobe's new selfie app uses AI and machine learning to edit photos. The 3D-facial mapping lets users adjust their pose and appearance.