As a smart technology entrepreneur with a machine intelligence research background and passionate about advancing the state-of-the-art in machine or artificial intelligence (AI) to help solve real-world problems, it is very encouraging and exciting to see the AI buzz in the tech industry right now, the progress made in the field to create an even stronger intelligence toolbox, and the ever increasing practical applications in all industries and enterprise functions. Machine intelligence is not only changing the way we use our computers and smartphones but the way we interact with the real world. It is also one of the key exponential technologies in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Given how all the major technology companies are embracing machine intelligence as a core part of their business and the multitude of startups building their business on this technology, AI is clearly not a passing fad, but being pushed across the rest of the tech world too. In this post I'm not only addressing some key topics about the current and future state of machine intelligence, but also practical steps we are taking here in Africa to not only use smart technology to solve problems, but also make a contribution towards advancing the-state-of-the-art in machine intelligence.

We cover many emerging markets in the startup ecosystem. Previously, we published posts that summarized Financial Technology, Internet of Things, Bitcoin, and MarTech in six visuals. This week, we do the same with Artificial Intelligence (AI). At this time, we are tracking 855 AI companies across 13 categories, with a combined funding amount of $8.75billion. To see all of our AI related posts, check out our blog!

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.

Thanks to recent gains in machine learning, computers are getting skilled at picking out patterns and features in text and images. That's how e-commerce giants like Amazon and eBay build sophisticated recommendation systems and how social networks like Facebook and Twitter are tweaking feeds to keep users hooked. Pinterest is no exception, with 30% of engagement tied to personalized real-time suggestions. Here's how Pinterest engineers are leveraging artificial intelligence to keep the website's 150 million–plus users pinning and sharing. Machine learning can not only determine the subject of an image, it can also identify visual patterns and match them to other photos.

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While Amazon has been furiously releasing updates to keep Alexa abreast of current events (and holiday shopping deals), Apple has been content to keep most of their Siri updates limited to major OS releases. That'll change with the iTunes release of The Secret Life of Pets, which marks the first time Apple's virtual assistant has been used to promote a movie release or partnered with a major movie studio. As 9to5Mac notes, the promotional stunt for The Secret Life of Pets gives Siri 15 somewhat humorous canned responses to the question "What do my pets do when I'm not at home?" When Engadget tried the gimmick, Siri responded with: "I don't know, but the dog just asked me for a walking route to the nearest park." And: "I don't know, but the cat just asked me about the five day forecast for the living room sunny spot." Those answers might be cute, but they're also not quite as smart as say: having Siri pull up your Nest cam highlights or launching your treat cam app.

Amazon's Alexa set for an upgrade with'SuperEcho' speaker complete with built in 7inch touchscreen Alexa voice assistant can respond to voice commands from user Next version rumour to have much improved sound and a touchscreen Will compete against Google's Home and rumoured Apple Siri speaker Will compete against Google's Home and rumoured Apple Siri speaker The Amazon Echo and smaller Echo Dot speakers will be available in black or white. The Echo will cost £149.99 Why the left is ALWAYS a man's best side: Researchers find... You can now play Pac-Man in Messenger: Facebook adds... Are YOU smart enough to answer Google's tricky interview... Does this look like a lizard on Mars? Why the left is ALWAYS a man's best side: Researchers find...

Amazon is working on a "premium" Echo-like speaker with a large touchscreen, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. The device, which has not been announced, will take a turn from Amazon's cylindrical-style devices that are controlled through Alexa. It will now allegedly have a display that will measure about seven inches. The device will make it less complicated for people when accessing content like weather, calendar events and the news, sources told Bloomberg. The Echo-like speaker will be bigger and will tilt upwards for a better viewing angle when it's sitting on a counter or when the user is standing.

The rising popularity of text messaging applications among users of digital products, which convinces us that the dialogue text-based interfaces are the future: fast, familiar and intuitive. The availability of open Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), that banks in Europe will be forced to provide for third parties after passing of the second Payment Services Directive (PSD2) by the European Union Commission on 8 October 2015. APIs are standards of direct communication between various pieces of software, for example between banks and retailers systems. This is important not only for financial institutions, but for e-commerce as well. The rising popularity of text messaging applications among users of digital products, which convinces us that the dialogue text-based interfaces are the future: fast, familiar and intuitive. The availability of open Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), that banks in Europe will be forced to provide for third parties after passing of the second Payment Services Directive (PSD2) by the European Union Commission on 8 October 2015.

The next version of Amazon's Echo will reportedly be more than just a speaker. Bloomberg reports Amazon is working on a high-end speaker similar to Echo, but will feature improved speakers and a 7-inch touchscreen. The speaker will still host Alexa, the company's digital voice assistant. The idea behind the touchscreen, a first for the Echo line, is to allow users to access news stories or weather reports more easily. The report also says the speaker will be larger and tilt upward for standing users.