Among all the AI helpers from major tech companies, Google Assistant is the most mysterious. Google has billed Assistant as one component in "the next evolution of Google." Others, such as Danny Sullivan at Search Engine Land, have gone a step further, imploring us to think of Assistant as "Google 2.0." Backchannel's Steven Levy has documented how Google is rebuilding its entire company around the type of machine learning that Assistant will showcase. Yet despite all of Assistant's potential, we know very little about how it'll operate.

Artificial intelligence is either the bright shining future of technology or an insidious threat that could endanger all of mankind, depending on your point of view. Now Google, one of the companies leading the development of AI systems, has set out five key challenges that need to be overcome with the technology - but they are somewhat more mundane than robots rising up to take over the world. Instead, the company sees one of the key problems as being how to stop negative side effects, such as a cleaning robot that knocks over a precious vase to get its job done faster. Google has published a new research paper highlight five challenges it sees as needing to be overcome to prevent AI and robots causing unintended harm. It also says robots need to be programmed in a way so they do not'game the system' – such as simply covering mess in a room with a sheet it cannot see through rather than tidying up. Avoiding Negative Side Effects: How can we ensure that an AI system will not disturb its environment in negative ways while pursuing its goals, e.g. a cleaning robot knocking over a vase because it can clean faster by doing so?

You can hardly talk to a technology executive or developer today without talking about artificial intelligence, machine learning or bots. While everyone agrees on the importance of machine learning to their company and industry, few companies have adequate expertise to do what they wanted the technology to do. Here are some insights into what we can expect in the coming years around ML and AI. If your company isn't using machine learning to detect anomalies, recommend products or predict churn, you will start doing it soon. Because of the rapid generation of new data, availability of massive amounts of compute power and ease of use of new ML platforms (whether it is from large technology companies like Amazon, Google and Microsoft or from startups like Dato), we expect to see more and more applications that generate real-time predictions and continuously get better over time.

With recent developments like the launch of Facebook's chatbot store, Apple's acquisition of Emotient, and the release of Viv, a virtual assistant from the founders of Siri, there's no doubt that artificial intelligence (AI) has started to quickly proliferate across consumer applications. Nonetheless, many of these new applications are still more novelty than necessity as their functionality is rudimentary at best, though we've come to rely on them daily – from Amazon product recommendations to Facebook facial recognition (auto tagging). Until consumer-facing AI can usher in new technological advancements that provide deeper and more human-like interaction, it still has a long way to go before it reaches its tipping point. Enterprise AI, however, offers immediate applications that help solve problems that many companies and workers face today, such as data overload. Companies across a wide range of industries have already taken advantage of AI capabilities in order to help improve both internal and external processes.

Artificial intelligence that can understand and answer any work-related question it is asked has been made available in the UK for the first time. The computer software, called Starmind, uses machine learning to understand queries, then source answers from previous staff conversations on a subject or track down experts within the company who are able to help. Its creators refer to it as'brain technology', adding its aim is to become a central knowledge bank within any company, an instant database of information that can be accessed by anyone. AI software which understands and answers work-related questions has been made available in the UK. Starmind is an artificial intelligence software for the workplace, designed in Switzerland.

Facebook's recent chatbot announcement about delivering ecommerce to the service's extensive user base has put artificial intelligence into the spotlight again. For years, software design has traditionally consisted of three fields, but there may soon be a fourth. Joining UX, UI, and graphic and interaction design is an idea known as "consciousness design" that will emerge as A.I. assistants grow in popularity. Amazon Echo and other A.I. assistants are among the pioneers of virtually "interface-less" experiences that make consciousness design central to product success. The idea is not so much to offer a simple search that delivers less-than-desired results, which is what Facebook bots basically do, but rather to offer a real customized experience that harnesses artificial intelligence to power the coming revolution.

The Roll is a new smart app that can help you organize the thousands of photos you take with your mobile phone. The app scans a photo library, analyzes each image and tries to detect the ones that are similar. It then sorts the images into groups so copies can be deleted. The app also gives each image a score as a measure of its quality. It doesn't always get it right: a professional fashion image taken in a studio obtained a quality score of 50%, although it may help the user to know which photos are better or worse before sharing them.

Amazon's voice activated digital assistant Alexa appears to know more about Prime Day than she's letting on. All she'll do at this point is recite a cryptic poem pointing to a possible deal on July 8, 2016. SAN FRANCISCO -- The off-season sale Amazon calls Prime Day hits July 12. If you're thinking of taking part, you'll save money and time by planning ahead. Here's how to prepare yourself ahead of the marketing bonanza, from apps that alert on price drops to asking Alexa.

Want to know how much you spent on Uber rides last month? A new banking bot called MyKAI can give you some answers. Kasisto's new banking smart bot, which works with messaging platforms like Facebook Messenger and Slack to make financial transactions and answer questions, is part of a broader trend towards using AI to enrich customers' interactions with companies. You can make payments, ask the bot things like how much money is in your account, and even ask general questions like "What is a CD?" It can even provide an answer if you want to know if you have a gambling problem. But how does MyKAI fit into the bigger bot world? How is it using AI to enable meaningful conversations with customers?

Amazon's voice activated digital assistant Alexa appears to know more about Prime Day than she's letting on. All she'll do at this point is recite a cryptic poem pointing to a possible deal on July 8, 2016. The Tap is similar to Echo, but requires you to press a button to speak to Alexa. SAN FRANCISCO -- The meaning behind a cryptic poem recited by Amazon's voice-command digital assistant Alexa on Wednesday became clear Friday with the announcement that Amazon customers who order by voice will get exclusive deals during the online retailer's Prime Day sale. Alexa users will receive a 10 discount on their first Amazon order using Amazon Echo, Echo Dot, or Amazon Tap, July 8 through July 12. Amazon created the shopping holiday for its Prime customers last year as a sort of Christmas in July event to celebrate its 20th anniversary.