Fifteen years ago, when the time became ripe for post-PC devices that put a premium on integrating software and hardware, Apple was the best-positioned company to lead the charge -- and it did. The company's vertical integration, its attention to detail and innovation in both software and hardware and its willingness to make big bets gave it an edge. And it used that edge to reel off its now-familiar string of game-changing products like the iPod, the iPhone, the MacBook Air and the iPad. Now, the iPod is essentially gone, and the other products are in mature or maturing markets, with either pretty flat or dropping sales. And the tech industry is turning to a new battlefield: Artificial intelligence, spread across many devices.

YOU heard it here first. When it comes to navigating information, headphones may be about to put screens in the shade. A handful of start-ups are creating devices which promise to transform not only how you hear the world, but also the way you interface with the gadgets in your life. Here One, launched this week by New York firm Doppler Labs, is one example. Looking like a pair of outsized earplugs, it samples the audio environment and plays back an augmented version. Using a smartphone, users can tweak the levels of individual sounds – adjusting the bass and treble at a concert, for example – or silence intrusive noises such as traffic and wailing infants.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has written an editorial about how humanity can create artificial intelligence that will help people in the future, rather than harm them either directly or indirectly.

The most important players in this new world are the "digital assistants:" Siri, Alexa, Cortana, Facebook M, Google Assistant, and a handful of third-party players. These, say their makers, will be our computing familiars, the programs that we'll spend most of our time talking to. They'll be accessible on different platforms (phones, watches, cars, home hubs) but keep tabs on our personal data, schedules, and location, across an entire network. And thanks to machine learning, they'll understand human speech better than any computers before, able to grok context and slang, and, eventually, emotion and intent. Assistants like this will offer us ambient computing.

Facebook has denied using location data to suggest potential friends amid questions about the unsettling accuracy with which it puts forward "people you may know". The feature has been known to suggest users who have no or few mutual friends on the network – and, reportedly, nothing in common beyond having shared the same physical space – prompting concerns about how it works. Still amazed at how accurate the "people you may know" thing on Facebook is. Facebook's people-you-may-know algorithm is so good it's almost creepy A friend of mine says the devil's in the sidebar on YouTube. I'd say the devil's also in the'people you may know' sidebar here on Facebook.

Fear not, Europhiles, for love is not lost. If you're downbeat about Britain's vote to leave the European Union, know that 48% of the country are with you, and one of them might just be your soulmate. No, honestly ... there is a new dating app in development that aims to let you meet other Remain voters so that you don't have to go through the pain alone. The idea for "Remainder" started off as a joke between "two ordinary voters" on Friday afternoon, but after receiving a huge number of sign-ups since the website went live, the pair are trying to make the app a reality. Billing itself as the "dating and social app for the 48%", Remainder is in the early-formation stage at the moment, but discussions with a dating app developer means a launch could be expected soon, the team behind it told the Guardian.

The most important players in this new world are the "digital assistants:" Siri, Alexa, Cortana, Facebook M, Google Assistant, and a handful of third-party players. These, say their makers, will be our computing familiars, the programs that we'll spend most of our time talking to. They'll be accessible on different platforms (phones, watches, cars, home hubs) but keep tabs on our personal data, schedules, and location, across an entire network. And thanks to machine learning, they'll understand human speech better than any computers before, able to grok context and slang, and, eventually, emotion and intent. Assistants like this will offer us ambient computing.

Microsoft has been forced to pay 7,500 ( 10,000) in compensation to a woman after its new Windows 10 operating system automatically installed on her computer. Teri Goldstein's computer – which previously ran on Windows 7 - became unusable after the software tried to download without her approval. Relying on her device to run her travel agency in Sausalito, California, she went to the Microsoft's support team seeking answers, The Seattle Times reports. Teri Goldstein's computer became unusable after the software tried to download without consent (stock photo) Microsoft's new operating system will run on the'broadest types of devices ever'. It will come with Cortana and the personal assistant app will run on the desktop.

"Think different" was an iconic tagline that helped define Apple for years. "A thousand songs in your pocket" was another solid slug that sold iPods and the idea of instant digital music. And then there was "Your intelligent assistant that helps you get things done by just talking." This exhausting mouthful, used by Apple's marketing chief Phil Schiller at Siri's reveal in 2011, fell flat. And it has framed how people have viewed the world's most recognizable voice assistant ever since.

A sinister threat is brewing deep inside the technology laboratories of Silicon Valley, according to Professor Stephen Hawking. Artificial Intelligence, disguised as helpful digital assistants and self-driving vehicles, is gaining a foothold, and it could one day spell the end for mankind. The world-renowned professor has warned robots could evolve faster than humans and their goals will be unpredictable. Professor Stephen Hawking (pictured) claimed AI would be difficult to stop if the appropriate safeguards are not in place. During a talk in Cannes, Google's chairman Eric Schmidt said AI will be developed for the benefit of humanity and there will be systems in place in case anything goes awry.