Samsung Electronics Co. plans to equip its next Galaxy S smartphones with a Siri-like digital assistant, seeking to make a strong comeback after the global debacle that precipitated the death of its flawed Note 7 lineup. Samsung, which last month acquired U.S.-based artificial-intelligence software company Viv Labs Inc., said the Galaxy S8 slated for next year will come with AI-enabled features "significantly differentiated" from those of Apple Inc.'s Siri or Google, executive vice president Rhee In-jong told reporters. Those services now offer up potentially useful information from the weather to flight times based on user activity. "It will be significantly differentiated from the current services we see in the market now," Rhee said of the S8's features. He said last month the company plans to embed Viv's technology in other electronics and home appliances beyond phones. Global technology players are vying to build devices attuned to users' lifestyles and daily behavior.

I've been around AI assistants for several years now, whether it's Siri or Google or Alexa or Cortana, and I've voluntarily spoken to these assistants less than 5 times. That last bullet point would place me in the vague psychological basket of "introverts," a group that I think will increasingly prove challenging for AI assistants and the humans who program them. The technology giants of the world are all moving in unison towards a vision of voice- and gesture-driven interactions with artificially intelligent butlers who know their human masters' preferences and provide quick, accurate, and personalized assistance. For example, as I'm typing this on my Windows 10 laptop, there's a message from Cortana at the bottom of my screen beckoning me to "Ask her anything." Well, I'm afraid you're going to be waiting a long time to hear from me, Cortana, because I am happily alone right now and feel no need to involve someone else in what I'm doing.

The world's top smartphone maker in October announced the acquisition of Viv Labs, a firm run by a co-creator of Apple's Siri voice assistant program. Samsung plans to integrate the San Jose-based company's AI platform, called Viv, into the Galaxy smartphones and expand voice-assistant services to home appliances and wearable technology devices. Samsung is counting on the Galaxy S8 to help revive smartphone momentum after the discontinuation of fire-prone Galaxy Note 7s, which will hit its profit by $5.4 billion over three quarters through the first quarter of 2017. Investors and analysts say the Galaxy S8 must be a strong device in order for Samsung to win back customers and revive earnings momentum. Samsung did not comment on what types of services would be offered through the AI assistant that will be launched on the Galaxy S8, which is expected to go on sale early next year.

Samsung Electronics announced Sunday that it will include an artificial intelligence assistance service in its upcoming Galaxy S8 smartphones. In addition to the Galaxy smartphone, the virtual assistance will also be incorporated into other products, including home appliances and wearable technology devices, according to media reports. "Our Galaxy smartphones don't provide services that enable consumers to order pizza or coffee, but does provide third party applications. But the new AI platform will enable consumers to do things that they would usually do through a separate third party application," Samsung reportedly said in a statement. Samsung, which plans to launch the Galaxy S8 early next year, recently announced the acquisition of the San Jose, California-based AI company Viv Labs, which was founded by the creators of Apple's Siri service.

FILE - In this Oct. 21, 2016 file photo, a Samsung Electronics' Galaxy S7 is displayed as customers wait in line to buy Apple's iPhone 7 at a mobile phone shop in Seoul, South Korea. Apple Inc. began selling the iPhone 7 in South Korea on Friday. The South Korean company said Sunday, Nov. 6, 2016, that the Galaxy S8 smartphone will let users order food or perform other tasks without going through a third-party application but by simply asking the phone's virtual assistant.

SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said on Sunday it would launch an artificial intelligence digital assistant service for its upcoming Galaxy S8 smartphone, seeking to rebound from the Galaxy Note 7's collapse and differentiate its devices. The world's top smartphone maker in October announced the acquisition of Viv Labs Inc, a firm run by a co-creator of Apple Inc's Siri voice assistant program. Samsung plans to integrate the San Jose-based company's AI platform, called Viv, into the Galaxy smartphones and expand voice-assistant services to home appliances and wearable technology devices. Samsung is counting on the Galaxy S8 to help revive smartphone momentum after the discontinuation of fire-prone Galaxy Note 7s, which will hit its profit by $5.4 billion over three quarters through the first quarter of 2017. Investors and analysts say the Galaxy S8 must be a strong device in order for Samsung to win back customers and revive earnings momentum.

BERLIN German prosecutors are investigating Mark Zuckerberg and other Facebook executives, a spokesman for the Munich prosecutor's office said on Friday, following a complaint alleging the company broke national laws against hate speech and sedition by failing to remove racist postings.

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd ( Samsung Electronics Co Ltd) said on Sunday it would launch an artificial intelligence digital assistant service for its upcoming Galaxy S8 smartphone, seeking to rebound from the Galaxy Note 7's collapse and differentiate its devices. The world's top smartphone maker in October announced the acquisition of Viv Labs Inc, a firm run by a co-creator of Apple Inc's ( Apple Inc.) Siri voice assistant programme. Samsung plans to integrate the San Jose-based company's AI platform, called Viv, into the Galaxy smartphones and expand voice-assistant services to home appliances and wearable technology devices. Samsung is counting on the Galaxy S8 to help revive smartphone momentum after the discontinuation of fire-prone Galaxy Note 7s, which will hit its profit by $5.4 billion over three quarters through the first quarter of 2017. Investors and analysts say the Galaxy S8 must be a strong device in order for Samsung to win back customers and revive earnings momentum.

A developer named Brian Kane has hacked his Alexa to speak through the avatar of a wall-mounted Big Mouth Billy Bass. It's not clear exactly how he did it, but it's probably related to the Alexa API -- opened in April just after the release of the Dot -- which allows developers to embed the smart assistant in third-party hardware. In the Facebook video, you can clearly see the animatronic fish responding to Alexa's wake word and moving its mouth in sync with her commands. The results, embedded above, are unsettling to say the least. The Big Mouth Billy Bass is a classic of novelty shops and Wal-Marts, designed to sing "Take Me To The River" or "Don't Worry Be Happy" when its motion sensor is activated.

The video is simply captioned, "the future" ― and it's a dystopian vision indeed. Gizmodo suggests that Kane could have accomplished this feat by using Amazon's API that lets people embed the Alexa technology in third-party devices. TechCrunch noted he also could have just shoved an Amazon Echo -- the wireless voice command device where you usually hear Alexa's voice -- inside the fish. Please just no one let this guy get his hands on a Teddy Ruxpin.