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.

During his presentation at Alphabet Inc. subsidiary Google's (GOOG) event to launch Pixel phones earlier this month, CEO Sundar Pichai said the company's goal was to build a personal google for everyone. Google Home, which will be available at major retail stores starting tomorrow, is part of the company's ecosystem of devices to achieve that aim. A spate of reviews in tech publications provide more details about Google's personalization plans. Google Home is a competitor to Amazon.com Inc.'s (AMZN) home assistant Alexa and is outfitted with Google Assistant, the AI system that will soon become all pervasive in Google's hardware products.

Watch Google Home, the Internet giant's take on Amazon Echo, as it struggles to answer basic queries posed by Jefferson Graham on #TalkingTech A link has been sent to your friend's email address. Watch Google Home, the Internet giant's take on Amazon Echo, as it struggles to answer basic queries posed by Jefferson Graham on #TalkingTech

Watch Google Home, the Internet giant's take on Amazon Echo, as it struggles to answer basic queries posed by Jefferson Graham on #TalkingTech LOS ANGELES - A new look to the Uber app that taps into your contacts to potentially share rides, a deep dive into Google Home, the product that tries to take on Amazon's Echo, but some say fails, subscription based organic dog food, video doorbells and online dollar stores. The extended weekend edition of the Talking Tech podcast weighs in on the week's tech's headlines, and introduces you to some new and very interesting tech startups. The app adds calendar integration--tap it to pick up a ride request for that destination. Uber also taps into your contact list to send push notifications to friend, asks if he/she wants to share ride. Microsoft Teams won't be fully available until the first quarter of 2017.

We're on the precipice of choosing the next President of the United States, and if you're still an undecided voter, let our 2016 Election Guide help inform your selection. While Trump or Hillary is the question most are trying to answer, Devindra Hardawar's interview this week sheds light on third-party, transhumanist candidate Zoltan Istvan and what he learned from the 2016 campaign. What I learned: while the idea that technology and man will merge to make us immortal is an enticing one, it's not an idea most of us feel is worth investing in politically... not yet, anyway. As the nation ponders the US election's outcome and the implications of its result, a city of the future is being built in Singapore -- a place where a far more restrictive political system has enabled the creation of the most technologically advanced metropolis on the planet. The question remains, however, whether the loss of privacy and the opportunity for governmental abuse is worth a more efficient municipal power grid and public transport system.