Sure, Alexa looks up things and answers questions for you. But as of Tuesday, you can ask the virtual personal assistant inside Amazon's Echo to make hotel reservations for you too. It's a Kayak-driven application that could rock the travel-booking world as more consumers shift to using their voice instead of their fingers when using cellphones and tablets. Kayak developed the interface that right now applies only to hotel bookings through its website. To use voice-command reservations, you first have to tell Alexa, which comes with Amazon's Echo voice-enabled speaker, who you are and link up your Kayak account.

Prime Day, aka Amazon Prime Members' Christmas in July, is upon us. Since July 10th at 9 p.m. ET, digital doorbusters have been available across Amazon for Prime members, offering large savings and discounts on anything from home appliances and goods to trending tech items. Members with an Amazon Alexa device skipped the virtual lines as Voice Shopping deals began yesterday at 7pm ET. Already blew through your budget on summer vacation? Not to worry, there are plenty of bargains still available for those looking to score a W on Prime Day.

AI enables computers to make autonomous decisions. It is a step forward in automation that is changing the retail industry. In retail, AI is used to analyze customer data, adapt how companies interact with shoppers and predict consumer demand in order to better manage inventory. For example, AI can decide for the retailer what items to show to shoppers and how to display and present them, and it can recreate the interaction that the shopper experiences with store associates at brick-and-mortar stores by guiding and advising the customer. AI enables retailers to drive sales and anticipate demand, gain a better understanding of consumer behavior and offer highly accurate, individualized promotions.

A man who allegedly beat his girlfriend and threatened to kill her has been arrested after a "smart speaker" alerted police. She suffered facial injuries during the attack but refused medical attention, and her child was unharmed. Police say the gadget overheard the incident and recognised one of the alleged attacker's remarks as a command, and proceeded to call 911. However, there's confusion around the identity of the device, which was initially claimed to be a Google Home. The I.F.O. is fuelled by eight electric engines, which is able to push the flying object to an estimated top speed of about 120mph.

For many, it's just another Tuesday, but for Amazon, it's another opportunity for the company to sell you loads of stuff you probably don't need. This year, there are plenty of deals to be had, especially if you're in the mood for a new piece of technology.We've put together a list of all-day deals that we think are worth keeping an eye on. For today only, the Echo is 47 percent off and is the cheapest it's ever been. If you're looking for something that can connect to your smart home gadgets, play your favourite music and let you order from Just Eat, this can do that and more. Amazon Echo Dot: £34.99 (normally £49.99) -- Like the Echo but smaller, the Echo Dot is an easy way to buy into Amazon's ecosystem. Instead of serving as the main speaker in a room, the Dot can be connected to your existing audio setup, making it super smart in the process.

China's leading technology companies are on fire, heavily investing in artificial intelligence and building true global presences. McKinsey recently reported that academic and research institutions in the country publish more cited research papers than the US, UK, or any other global leader in AI, producing nearly 10,000 papers in 2015 alone. Backed by strong government mandates and billions of dollars of both private and public investments, China is challenging the US for position of global AI leader. Fearful of competition, the US government is considering placing restrictions on Chinese investments in AI and technology in the United States. In many sectors, such as healthcare, China may already be ahead of America in applying AI to critical public issues.

After responding to a domestic violence case in Tijeras, New Mexico on July 2, the Bernalillo County sheriff department initially announced that Amazon Echo, the voice-activated speaker device, had automatically called 911 that led the police to arrive at the scene. "Alexa calling and messaging operates via Wi-Fi between Echo devices or the Alexa app -- it does not support PSTN (public switched telephone network) calling," Hass said, NBC 26 reported. However, there are a few ways to get around the restriction, and get Alexa Echo or Echo Dot to call 911 during an emergency using third-party apps. After this is done, if the owner says "Google, dial 911" or "Alexa, dial 911" (provided one has switched the Google Now trigger word first), a call will be directly placed to the emergency services.

As a company, Amazon's known for its periodic and unexpected investments and projects. The online retailer's latest initiative wants to bring its staffers into your home for tech support. Amazon has launched an in-home service that'll help users set up their Amazon Echo and integrate the device into their smart home. Through the Geek Squad-like program, Amazon employees can also be scheduled to make home appointments for Alexa consultations or perform installation and setup for smart home products like lights and thermostats. Read: Here's How To Get Alexa To Tell You When Your Amazon Package Is On Its Way Installation costs for smart home devices through the Amazon program vary depending on the difficulty of the products.

A New Mexico man was arrested for allegedly beating his girlfriend and threatening to kill her -- after Amazon's Alexa called police, authorities said. Eduardo Barros, 28, became angered with his unidentified girlfriend while housesitting in Tijeras, about 15 miles east of Albuquerque, and the dispute suddenly turned physical on July 2, authorities said. During the assault, Barros waved a gun and threatened to kill the woman before he allegedly asked: "Did you call the sheriffs?" The question was inadvertently picked up by the smart speaker and the voice-powered virtual assistant recognized the phrase as a command -- prompting it to call 911, Bernallillo County Sheriff's Department Deputy Felicia Romero confirmed to The Post on Monday. It's unclear whether the speaker was connected to an Amazon Echo or Echo Dot device, but the Alexa virtual assistant was connected to a landline in the home, Romero said.

Let's pause for a moment, and take linguistic stock. Technology has many societal impacts, but perhaps one of its most visibly evident is how the tools we use change how we communicate with each other -- so, literally, how technology rewrites language itself. We see this in the willing stockpiling of techie jargon into individual vocabularies (the Androids, the iPhones, the lesser-seen Surface Books); the new word coinages (blockchain), the new and expanding uses for existing words (a'message' is a noun; 'message me' an imperative verb asking someone to send you an IM); the creative portmanteaus (glasshole is a particularly good one), the tech-obsessed idioms (I don't have bandwidth for that right now), and so on and on. We also get to glimpse the places where technology might be in the process of placing stress on social structures or societal norms. Again, glasshole is a great example of that -- a word that effectively contains the full story of Google Glass' abject consumer failure wrapped up in those two mocking syllables.