In this week's Brain Boost: monetizing chatbots, AI breaks the sound barrier, and Björk's VR. Monetizing chatbots Artificially intelligent assistants are all the rage. Facebook has an AI messenger bot that makes recommendations with you via chat. Amazon has Alexa, which can handle simple conversations and enables you to make purchases– all without turning on any device. And, of course, Apple's Siri performs a huge range of functions and will reportedly be a big part of next generation Macintoshes.

By now you've probably heard the story of Tay, Microsoft's social AI experiment that went from "friendly millennial girl" to genocidal misogynist in less than a day. While Tay promised to learn from her interactions with people online, Microsoft apparently hasn't learned anything from the countless headlines about how Twitter users like to talk to visible women – everything from gleefully anarchic trolling to threats and abuse – otherwise it would have seen this coming. At first, Tay's story seems like a fun one for anyone who's interested in cautionary sci-fi. What does it mean for the future of artificial intelligence if a bot can embody the worst aspects of digital culture after just 16 hours online? If any AI is given the vastness of human creation to study at lightning speed, will it inevitably turn evil?

I think we can all agree that The Onion is one of America's greatest treasures. And I'm not just saying that because they're headquartered in my adopted hometown of Chicago; I'm saying it because it's absolutely true. Its ability to consistently capture our malaise -- whatever our malaise of the day may be -- and translate it into meaningful, sharply funny satire is almost overwhelming, particularly during weeks like this. But I'm not here to heap generic praise on America's Finest News Source, there's been plenty of that. I'm here to question whether its writers and editors are, in fact, shapeshifting time-travelers from an alternate dimension who do a better job of predicting the future than actual, non-satirical pundits do.

The defining advance of the next decade, if you listen to the prophets of Silicon Valley, will be the seismic and unavoidable ascent of artificial intelligence. It might be hard to take the thought seriously when a satnav sends you down a dead-end country road, or your phone's autocorrect feature turns a carefully-constructed text message to gibberish, but the milestones reached in the past year alone have been exceptional. DeepMind, the British AI company owned by Google, has defeated the world champion at Go, the ancient game that requires a finely tuned sense of intuition to master. Driverless cars now seem like an inevitability rather than a curiosity. Error rates on image recognition technology have dropped from 25pc in 2011 to less than 4pc.

A robotic employee will be deployed instead of human council workers to answer customer queries. IPsoft said Amelia, its technology platform, will be deployed to work for Enfield Council in North London. Capable of analyzing natural language, she understands context, applies logic, learns, resolves problems and even senses emotions. IPsoft said Amelia will be deployed to work for Enfield Council in North London. Capable of analyzing natural language, she understands context and even senses emotions.

In addition to conducting pure research in artificial intelligence and machine learning (ML), the group will also develop new tools and products that make use of the technology. The company noted that it already offers several services to consumers that are based on machine learning technology, such as Google Translate, Photo Search, and Smart Reply for Inbox. The new research center is part of a broader initiative at Google to advance the field of machine learning. Researchers working at the company's existing engineering offices in Zurich have already made major contributions to the field, such as developing the conversation engine that powers the Google Assistant in the Allo smart messaging app, and developing the engine that powers Knowledge Graph. The Zurich office is already the company's largest engineering office outside of the US.

The importance of algorithms in our lives today cannot be overstated. They are used virtually everywhere, from financial institutions to dating sites. But some algorithms shape and control our world more than others -- and these ten are the most significant. Just a quick refresher before we get started. Though there's no formal definition, computer scientists describe algorithms as a set of rules that define a sequence of operations.

Retailers and technology firms are experimenting with chatbots, powered by a combination of machine learning, natural language processing, and live operators, to provide customer service, sales support, and other commerce-related functions. The company first integrated peer-to-peer payments into Messenger in 2015 and then launched a full chatbot API so businesses can create interactions for customers to occur within the Facebook Messenger app. While the most common uses of the device include playing music, making informational queries, and controlling home devices, Alexa (the device's default addressable name) can also tap into Amazon's full product catalog as well as your order history and intelligently carry out commands to buy stuff. Through Amazon's developer platform for the Echo (called Alexa Skills), developers can develop "skills" for Alexa that enable her to carry out new types of tasks.

Retailers and technology firms are experimenting with chatbots, powered by a combination of machine learning, natural language processing, and live operators, to provide customer service, sales support, and other commerce-related functions. Chris Messina of Uber recently coined the term "conversational commerce" to describe this movement, which he defines as: The net result is that you and I will be talking to brands and companies over Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, and elsewhere before year's end, and will find it normal. While messaging and voice interfaces are central components, they fit into a larger picture of increasing infusion of technology into our daily lives, which in turn is unlocking new potential for brand-to-consumer interaction. The fact is, technology overall is becoming more deeply woven into our lives, and the entire ecosystem is enjoying tighter cohesion through the increasing availability and sophistication of APIs. Smart companies are finding new and innovative touch points with consumers that are contextual, relevant, highly personal, and, yes, conversational.

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) had the perfect answer to the potential threat posed by Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) upcoming Google Home intelligent home assistant. Amazon's prompt answer was to just sell a 20-off Alexa-powered Amazon Tap Bluetooth speaker/smart home assistant. In fact, Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) alleged upcoming Siri Speaker will also likely get a beat-down from Amazon Echo's cheaper variations. Deep discounting is Amazon's deadly weapon against any threat to its popular brands of smart devices. All the cheapo Fire tablets, Fire TV console/stick products, and Alexa-powered speakers it sells are mere customer recruitment avenues for Amazon's online marketplace.