Machine-learning and artificial intelligence are considered by many to be radical tools that will revolutionize entire industries. Everything from self-driving cars, to our photo apps, Netflix recommendations, and digital assistants, is driven by this technology, and we'll become even more reliant upon it in the future. That's why Intel is looking to capitalize on this and has created its own AI-optimized chip. Most neural networks, machine-learning algorithms, and pretty much everything we'd describe as artificial intelligence currently relies on graphics cards. Both the learning, and a big part of the implementation is driven by GPUs which have proven remarkably adept at processing such data.

The transformative power of technology is stunning. Fifty years ago, if you told someone you needed to search for a piece of information, they would think that you were headed over to a wall of encyclopedias at the library. Fifteen years ago they would have thought that you were going to go sit down at a bulky desktop computer to type something into a Yahoo search bar. Five years ago the image would include a smartphone in your hand, fingers tapping away. Today the idea of a search is becoming more and more synonymous with simply speaking out into the air.

Attackers can access information from locked iPhones by using Siri, the YouTube channel iDeviceHelp found. Through the exploit, a user's private information from their iPhones, including contacts, photos and message logs, can be compromised, according to Apple Insider. How It's Done In order to get into an iPhone that does not belong to them, attackers must first ask Siri "Who am I?" iDeviceHelp explains in a video. Then Siri responds by giving the name and contact information of the phone's owner. Next, an attacker can use another iPhone to call the locked device and begin to send a custom message.

AT&T announced on Thursday it's launching a new skill on Amazon's Alexa-enabled devices that lets you send hands-free text messages. Starting today, Amazon's Alexa-powered device can send messages for you and send them to a list of contacts that have been pre-programmed. To get started, all you need to do is say "Alexa, ask AT&T to text (name), and the assistant will create your message. "Amazon Echo is ahead of the curve in terms of voice recognition technology and functionality," said Jeff Bradley, senior vice president, Device and Network Services Marketing. "AT&T is the first carrier to bring this unique skill to a product already known for innovation.

As part of a three-week pilot study this quarter, half of the students in STATS 60: "Introduction to Statistical Methods" were assigned a RoboTA, an artificially intelligent robot teaching assistant (TA), to answer their questions by email. Students emailed different addresses based on the TA they were assigned. The emails were then funneled through a program, stripped of any identifying information and relayed to Lucas Janson, the TA for the class. Janson replied to all the emails without knowing whether they were intended for the human TA or the artificial intelligence (AI) TA. This study is double-blind, so neither the students nor the experimenters have information about the other, which helps prevent bias.

When the engineers had at last finished their work, Eugenia Kuyda opened a console on her laptop and began to type. "This is your digital monument." It had been three months since Roman Mazurenko, Kuyda's closest friend, had died. Kuyda had spent that time gathering up his old text messages, setting aside the ones that felt too personal, and feeding the rest into a neural network built by developers at her artificial intelligence startup. She had struggled with whether she was doing the right thing by bringing him back this way. At times it had even given her nightmares. But ever since Mazurenko's death, Kuyda had wanted one more chance to speak with him. A message blinked onto the screen. "You have one of the most interesting puzzles in the world in your hands," it said. Born in Belarus in 1981, Roman Mazurenko was the only child of Sergei, an engineer, and Victoria, a landscape architect. They remember him as an unusually serious child; when he was 8 he wrote a letter to his descendents declaring his most cherished values: wisdom and justice. In family photos, Mazurenko roller-skates, sails a boat, and climbs trees. Average in height, with a mop of chestnut hair, he is almost always smiling.

This story was delivered to BI Intelligence Apps and Platforms Briefing subscribers. To learn more and subscribe, please click here. Apple filed a patent last year to integrate Siri with its iMessage platform for iOS devices, TechCrunch reported. The voice-based virtual assistant would be able to conduct activities like making payments, scheduling appointments, and providing weather updates within a chat in the iMessage application. The patent filing clearly indicates that Apple has been working on bringing chatbots and other messaging app functions to iMessage.

Amazon is getting a jump on the holiday shopping craze with an all-Alexa weekend. The online retailer just announced its first "voice shopping weekend." Prime members can use an Amazon Echo, Echo Dot, Amazon Tap, Amazon Fire HD tablet, or Amazon Fire TV to ask, "Alexa, what are your deals?" Alexa will then tell you about Amazon's deals for that day. If you like what you hear, you can then tell Alexa to order the item.

Say, you have your hands full and need to text someone ASAP -- if you're an AT&T subscriber with access to Amazon's speakers, you can now send messages completely hands free. Starting today, Amazon's Alexa-powered devices can compose messages for you and send them to a pre-programmed list of contacts. You only need to say "Alexa, ask AT&T to text name," and the assistant will prompt you to dictate your message. Company VP Jeff Bradley said AT&T "is the first carrier to bring this unique skill to a product already known for innovation." The feature does come with limitations, though.

Sundar Pichai is huddling with five Google staffers in a room next to his office that's known--appropriately enough--as "Sundar's Huddle." The employees are members of the Google Photos team, and they're here this morning to update Pichai on something they've been working on for months. The group has barely begun its presentation when Pichai starts peppering them with questions, opinions, and advice. For half an hour, the discussion careens from subject to subject: the power of artificial intelligence, the value of integrating Google Photos with other products such as Google Drive, the importance of creating an emotional bond with the users of an app. After the team shows Pichai a rough cut of a promotional video, his feedback is unguarded and heartfelt: "That's awesome!" Google's bearded, 44-year-old CEO is, unmistakably, in his element. "Nothing makes me happier than a product review in which I can sit with the team and they're showing me something they're building," Pichai had told me a few days earlier. "Being able to react to it and think through, 'When users get this, what will their feedback be?' I'm always on a quest to do that better and do more of it."