This year's news about what artificial intelligence can do in the arts has been both exciting and scary. Neural networks have learned to paint like masters and compose sophisticated music. Those of us in creative endeavors might be as endangered by technological advances as blue-collar workers are often said to be -- though we are protected by certain limitations that technology is never likely to overcome. Last summer, a team of Russian developers released Prisma, a mobile app based on the work of some German artificial intelligence researchers. The neural network behind it could redraw an image using techniques it had learned from studying the oeuvre of a number of painters, including Vincent Van Gogh and Edvard Munch.

No longer simply the subject of science-fiction movies, artificial intelligence is making its way into the insurance enterprise. According to Accenture, four in five insurers are planning to or have deployed some sort of artificial intelligence technology in their enterprises. Allstate Business Insurance deployed ABie -- the Allstate Business Insurance Expert -- virtual assistant to help walk agents through the quoting process for complex products. The context-aware technology understands agents inputs and is able to direct them through the process without using the call center. AIG has partnered with Human Condition Safety to deploy devices that "couples wearable technology with artificial intelligence (AI) and building information modeling."

Amazon's Echo line already has a truckload of skills that tap into Alexa's ability to lend a hand with tasks, and the company adds new ones on a what seems like a weekly basis. This week, Google announced Netflix support for its connected Home speaker through Chromecast alongside the ability to display images from Google Photos. It turns out that was just the beginning as Google revealed over 30 more actions for Home from third-party developers. Using voice commands, you can try to find out why you feel crappy with WebMD, sort your to-do list with Todoist, order pizza from Domino's and get news updates from the likes of The Wall Street Journal, NBC News, NPR and more. And those are just a few examples.

In theory, Sony's newest wearable sounds promising. The Xperia Ear is a single Bluetooth earbud that lets you dictate messages, get weather updates, smartphone notifications and carry out other little tasks just by talking to it. Sony also promises a long-lasting battery that can endure a full workday of talk time with the included charging case, so you can have the assistant ready for your commands all day. Unfortunately, the Xperia Ear simply doesn't do enough to justify its $200 asking price. Sony's Xperia Ear is an intriguing device -- in theory. It's a single Bluetooth earpiece with a built-in assistant that's always ready for your voice commands, and will recite your smartphone notifications as they arrive.

Tis the season for Listicles – those wonderfully quick reads with the "Top 10" things to look for in the coming year. Customers started showing a pronounced preference for self-service over lengthy interactions with live assistants. Conversational commerce, involving chatbots through mobile devices was rapidly expanding All flavors of Intelligent Assistants (especially bots and virtual agents) were making the transition from "assistant" to "advisor" Customers started showing a pronounced preference for self-service over lengthy interactions with live assistants. All flavors of Intelligent Assistants (especially bots and virtual agents) were making the transition from "assistant" to "advisor" Indeed, these three factors shaped IA in 2016 and will continue to do so in 2017, spurred on by increased spending by business enterprises on Speech Processing, Natural Language Processing, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Knowledge Management and Predictive Interaction Analytics. It's great news for the 28 or so firms that offer platforms for Enterprise Intelligent Assistants [link to our Landscape] while, at the same time it is a tremendous shot in the arm for the thousands of developers who are building bots for messaging platforms (especially Facebook Messenger) or "skills" for "metabots" (like Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant).

The year of AI: Major developments in 2016 could pave the way for a future where'intelligent machines are omnipresent in our daily lives' Artificial intelligence or AI is getting a foothold in people's homes, starting with the Amazon devices like its Echo speaker (pictured) which links to a personal assistant'Alexa' to answer questions and control connected devices such as appliances or light bulbs Donald Trump claims torture ¿works¿ ¿ but what does the... South Korea comes a step closer to LIMITLESS energy:... Facebook Messenger launches an in-app camera and... The shoes that will tell you if you're too tired to run:... Donald Trump claims torture ¿works¿ ¿ but what does the... South Korea comes a step closer to LIMITLESS energy:... Facebook Messenger launches an in-app camera and... The shoes that will tell you if you're too tired to run:... Analyst Carolina Milanesi of the research firm Creative Strategies said that '2016 was the year about raising awareness, and exposing consumers to the idea of AI in a more mass market way.' Google Home (pictured) is the small speaker will be able to play music and access Google Assistant, a new AI system the search giant unveiled at I/O in May. It's believed Apple has been working on their smart-home device for at least 2 years The first virtual family portrait: Mark Zuckerberg showed off the firm's software for the Oculus Rift headset at the Oculus Connect conference in San Francisco. Tragic video shows a man filming himself smoking Ice Amir Khan's wife Faryal was called'Michael Jackson' by family Epic fight!

Gatebox AI is an unusual virtual assistant that involves a projected CGI character kind-of trapped in a jar -- with voice controls! The sales pitch is that this virtual assistant will give the sensation of living with a fictional character, or according to how creator Vinclu Inc. words it, "your heroes". Which is fine, if your hero is a non-spectacular CGI anime character with blue hair and excessively submissive temperament. Behind the virtual idol/slave gloss, Gatebox AI's assistant functions approach a bare-bones Amazon Echo. According to the preorder site, Gatebox's debut character Hikari has the "ultimate healing voice" (uh huh) and the J-Pop AI will adjust to your daily rhythms, welcoming you home or sensing when you get up.

Natural language processing has reached an important milestone. Sophisticated chatbots are now available as white label and open source offerings while larger technology companies are releasing Virtual Personal Assistants capable of performing complex tasks via voice commands, from ordering goods and services to acting as a smart hub for smart homes. These new categories of products and services are set to revolutionise customer care, search and discovery, and the provision of goods and third party services. Join pioneers from this exciting new space to learn how AI is set to radically transform how we interact with the world around us.

Gatebox is new holographic home assistant that's similar to the Amazon Echo's Alexa, only more anthropomorphic--and creepier. Made by the Japanese company Vinclu Inc, the device is a transparent, voice-activated cylinder that displays a tiny holographic character named Azuma Hikari (presumably, other characters can be added later). Pre-orders for a limited production run of 300 units began today on Gatebox's website. Hikari was created to be a "comforting character that is great for those living alone." The purpose of this cutesy anime character, blue hair, mini skirt, knee high socks and all, is to "do all she can just for the owner"--also referred to as "master." It seems designed specifically to appeal to lonely bachelors.

Google has added support for Netflix to its home assistant Google Home, just in time for binge-watching during the holidays. To get started you'll need the latest version of the Google Home app, and Chromecast needs to be plugged into your TV. Once in the Google Home app go to Devices - Home - Settings - More - Videos and Photos and link your Netflix account to your Google account. Once you're all done with that, say "OK Google, play Stranger Things on Netflix on my TV" the movie will start streaming. You can ask Google Home to play your favorite series, skip episodes, pause and resume playback and turn on captions.