Mark Zuckerberg envisions a software system inspired by the "Iron Man" character Jarvis as a virtual butler managing his household. The Facebook founder's dream is about artificial intelligence, which is slowly but surely creeping into our daily lives, no longer just science fiction. Artificial intelligence or AI is getting a foothold in people's homes, starting with the Amazon devices like its Echo speaker which links to a personal assistant "Alexa" to answer questions and control connected devices such as appliances or light bulbs. 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." Milanesi said it may take time for the technology to fulfill its potential, noting that companies need "a strong hook" to bring large numbers of consumers into this world.

Think that burning in your loins is going to fade to a mild simmer later in life? A new survey from the dating site OurTime, which caters to singles that are 50 and older, has revealed that older people are just as interested in meeting people, having sex and finding love as anyone with a beating heart. While we may all have similar desires, regardless of age, the real bummer for older singles is that 51 percent of them said they weren't satisfied with their sex lives. It could have something to do with the fact that 46 percent of them haven't been on a date in more than five years. By contrast, a 2015 big survey done by SKYN Condoms found that 71 percent of single millennials -- those 18 to 34 -- were satisfied with their sex life.

Artificial intelligence has reached a new milestone, with a program beating four professional players in a poker tournament lasting 20 days. Libratus, an AI program developed by a team of researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, took on Dong Kim, Jimmy Chou, Daniel McAulay and Jason Les at no-limit Texas Hold'em in a Pittsburgh casino, eventually taking $1.76 million (£1.4 million) in chips. It's been hailed as a milestone for AI, with Libratus co-creator Tuomas Sandholm declaring, "The best AI's ability to do strategic reasoning with imperfect information has now surpassed that of the best humans." Boston Dynamics describes itself as'building dynamic robots and software for human simulation'. It has created robots for DARPA, the US' military research company Deep Blue, a computer created by IBM, won a match against world champion Garry Kasparov in 1997. Apple's virtual assistant for iPhone, Siri, uses artificial intelligence technology to anticipate users' needs and give cheeky reactions Xbox's Kinect uses artificial intelligence to predict where players are likely to go, an track their movement more accurately Its human opponents had been sharing notes in an effort to expose Libratus' weaknesses, but the AI grew stronger as the tournament went on.

If you want to brush up on the Super Bowl this week, Siri's got your back. From logistical questions about this Sunday's upcoming game to information about Tom Brady's college team, asking Siri Super Bowl-specific questions will now get you proper answers, as opposed to the usual list of search results. SEE ALSO: What this NFL player put on Facebook Live cost him $10,000 and now he's very sorry The AI-assistant is even making predictions. If you ask Siri, "who's going to win the Super Bowl?" or a variation of that question, you'll get the following answer: "The odds favor the Patriots over the Falcons by 3 points." Apple has also equipped Siri with the ability to help you with other Super Bowl-related commands, like how to get to your nearest sports bar.

Starbucks Corp. will begin letting customers order via voice on their iPhones and Amazon.com Inc.'s Alexa system, a bid to bolster its tech capabilities even as the rapid evolution brings headaches to the coffee chain. The new capability works with the barista feature on the Starbucks' app, which relies on artificial intelligence to interact with customers. Customers can talk with the software in the same way they would order coffee at a store, Starbucks said in a statement Monday. "The use of mobile order and pay continues to accelerate," Chief Operating Officer Kevin Johnson said in an interview last week.

The good: Long battery life, Good camera with a wide range of controls, Easy to grip without a case The bad: Includes excessive apps, Not water and dust resistant, No virtual assistant at launch Who should buy: Android fans looking for a great large phone with long battery life. When Samsung recalled its Galaxy Note 7 last September, Android fans looking for a big-screened smartphone were left with few choices aside from Google's Pixel XL. Enter Huawei's Mate 9, which launched in the U.S. in early January. Huawei's device will also be the first smartphone to include Amazon's Alexa voice assistant built-in, which will be added through a software update promised to arrive during the first quarter of this year. With Alexa, Mate 9 will be capable of handling many of the same tasks as the Amazon Echo.

Machine learning has long powered many products we interact with daily–from "intelligent" assistants like Apple's Siri and Google Now, to recommendation engines like Amazon's that suggest new products to buy, to the ad ranking systems used by Google and Facebook. More recently, machine learning has entered the public consciousness because of advances in "deep learning"–these include AlphaGo's defeat of Go grandmaster Lee Sedol and impressive new products around image recognition and machine translation. In this series, we'll give an introduction to some powerful but generally applicable techniques in machine learning. These include deep learning but also more traditional methods that are often all the modern business needs. After reading the articles in the series, you should have the knowledge necessary to embark on concrete machine learning experiments in a variety of areas on your own.

Starbucks is about to make it even easier to order and pay for your coffee. The coffee chain is testing a new feature within its iOS app and a skill for Amazon Alexa devices, both of which let customers place orders with just their voice. The new voice-ordering features are an extension of Starbucks Mobile Order & Pay, which lets you order and pay for items before arriving at the store. At this point, the new My Starbucks barista feature within the company's iOS app will only be available to 1,000 customers nationwide. The feature leverages artificial intelligence to let you speak or text what you want, just as if you were talking to a barista in the store.

It's a brand new year, and by most reliable indicators – the latest demos at CES 2017, the buzz on all the tech blogs and even the pre-roll ads interrupting my binge watching of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend – it looks like 2017 will be the year that voice interaction reaches mainstream adoption. Voice interaction – the ability to speak to your devices, and have them understand and act upon whatever you're asking them – was everywhere this year. Device manufacturers of all shapes and sizes heavily integrated voice capabilities into their offerings at CES 2017, with Amazon's Alexa stealing the show as their AI platform of choice. The rapid proliferation of voice interaction capabilities in our individual digital ecosystems raises critical questions for any designer whose work plays a role in the customer experience. It's becoming clear that voice interaction will soon become an expected offering as either an alternative, or even a full replacement to, traditional visual interfaces.

It has a relatively small population, it's English-speaking and it has an estimated smartphone penetration of 84 percent -- all qualities that make it the ideal place for Tinder to test its new features, according to the dating app's founder. SEE ALSO: Tinder founder responds to Muslim ban: CEOs have a'responsibility' to speak out Australians take to product updates faster than other markets, Tinder chairman Sean Rad told Mashable in Sydney on Tuesday. And that's why features like Tinder Social, which allows users to set up group dates, were piloted here first. "Australians are, I guess, really early adopters -- more open minded and quicker to try new things," he said, "and that's why we test all of our stuff here first." Tinder's sixth largest market, Australia is also culturally similar to its primary locations like the United States.