Did you forget to turn off the window A.C.? How about that curling iron? Want the living room lamp to turn on when the sun goes down--automatically? The Wemo Switch gives you control of your lamps and small appliances whenever you want, wherever you choose, with tons of options for scheduling and automation. Paired with Amazon Alexa, you can control your lamps and appliances with just the power of your voice. When Wemo works with Nest Thermostat, you can set your lights to turn off automatically when you leave the house, and on when you get home again.

For decades, we have seen people talk to computers in science fiction movies. Michael Knight was assisted by KITT. The computers were smart and personable, and they (usually) did what they were told. When Amazon's Echo hit the market two years ago, this dream came true -- sort of. The Echo was an affordable futuristic device that responded to voice commands.

Datorama, a cross-channel marketing analytics firm that's scored $50 million in funding, has introduced a voice-activated component of its platform, allowing clients to summon their previous campaign measurement data by asking their Alexa-enabled device. The new querying capability is intended to supplement the traditional dashboard reporting that marketers are accustomed to, giving them an additional way to pull quick data points in the midst of a business conversation -- during a board meeting, for example. "At the speed of conversation, there are instances where maybe you need information," said Jay Wilder, director of product marketing at Datorama. "Wouldn't it be great if you could just ask the question and get the response back immediately without friction?" The Datorama platform is integrated with Alexa.

According to a set of intelligent humans interviewed for this story, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are going to help drive the tech economy in 2017. When CIO.com posted a query on Help a Reporter Out, a site designed to help journalists connect with sources, asking about startup trends to watch in 2017, the overwhelming majority of respondents pointed to AI. This coming year and beyond, AI will help companies "disrupt sectors that haven't been fully disrupted," says Anthony Glomski, principal of AG Asset Advisory, a financial advisory firm. "AI is in its beginning stages with massive potential impact." Here are eight startup categories and trends experts believe will be big in 2017.

If you happen to live in one of the six million US homes that have so far purchased an Amazon Echo, you may think Alexa is just a voice emanating from a cylindrical speaker that knows a couple of tricks. It plays the Beatles on command. It can order more toilet paper. It has jokes, some of which are even kind of funny. Just as Apple taught us that a small portable phone could be a more powerful computing method than our lumbering desktops, Amazon is introducing us to a new computing interface -- a voice devoid of a screen--that will eventually grow to be more ubiquitous and more useful than our smartphones.

There was no shortage of news about machine learning and artificial intelligence in 2016. But while some of the stories showed how far the technology has come, others showed how far it still has to go. Google's AlphaGo game-playing AI algorithm checked in on the positive side. It was able to beat the world's best players of the game Go, which is often compared to chess, but is in fact exponentially more complicated due to the large number of possible moves and the strategies that develop from managing so many potential moves. Then, there was Microsoft's Tay Twitter chatbot.

This year delivered a whole host of body blows to the UK's thriving startup sector. There has been an investor slowdown, few notable IPOs, increased market volatility and shining lights sold abroad. Then there was the biggest punch of them all, the Brexit vote to leave the European Union and all of the issues this brings up for a sector reliant on foreign talent. So what can the UK tech startup scene expect in 2017? It will no doubt be a year of further turmoil, and startups will need to be prepared for the worst, but there are also green shoots of hope for smart founders and investors who are focusing on the right areas.

The Amazon Echo might be sold out everywhere this holiday season, but those who've picked one of the smart speakers up prior have a treat in store. From now through January 3rd, saying "Alexa, read A Christmas Carol from Audible" will do exactly as the command suggests -- for free. And not only that, the Dickens classic is read by none other than Tim Curry -- the dastardly hotel manager from Home Alone 2 and voice of Ebeneezer Scrooge in the animated version of the story, from 1997. Pair this with the Eye of Sauron yule log, a glass of (boozy) egg nog and you'll be all ready for the big day. From now until Jan. 3, 2017, Alexa customers can listen to a holiday classic for free.

FILE - In this Nov. 19, 2016, file photo, Mark Zuckerberg, chairman and CEO of Facebook, speaks at the CEO summit during the annual Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Lima, Peru. Zuckerberg unveiled his new artificial intelligence assistant named "Jarvis" in a Facebook post on Dec. 19, 2016. FILE - In this Nov. 19, 2016, file photo, Mark Zuckerberg, chairman and CEO of Facebook, speaks at the CEO summit during the annual Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Lima, Peru.

Why Samsung May Release A Foldable Smartphone Next Year -- Even If It Won't Make Them Any Money By all accounts, 2016 has been an extraordinary year for Silicon Valley. Not only have the technology behemoths mustered a growing influence on Capitol Hill, their sheer market capitalization also testifies to one undeniable fact: They are the ones who change the world. The tech industry's missions are unapologetic and filled with passion. Their corporate myths are often wrapped up in their early days as startups. That some awkward twenty-year-old could turn their social ineptness into their biggest advantage and build a global enterprise from their garage is the highest expression of the American dream.