Developers can now build Conversation Actions for Google Home. Google is opening up Google Home for third-party developers who want to engage with customers through the voice-activated Google Assistant. Developers can now build "Conversation Actions " for Google Home -- Google's voice-activated speaker, which competes with Amazon's Echo -- using Actions on Google, the developer platform for the Google Assistant. Once a Conversation Action is ready, users simply need to ask Google Home for a specific action by name to be connected immediately -- there's no need to install an app or enable a skill. Experts in natural language processing can use the Conversation API to process raw strings of spoken text from the user, and then they can use the Actions SDK to build an action.

The company is opening its voice-enabled Assistant to developers who can start creating "actions" for the device. Early partners will include media companies like NBC News, Buzzfeed and NPR, as well as consumer apps like Quora, Genius and Todoist. SEE ALSO: Google's data centers, offices will use 100% renewable energy in 2017 The idea is similar to the "skills" developers create for Amazon's Echo line: companies can create "Conversation Actions" that link their services to Google Assistant on Home. Using the actions created by Domino's, for example, you can ask Google Assistant to order you a pizza, or ask for the latest CNN headlines. Unlike Alexa's skills that have to be manually enabled, Google notes that once developers create a conversation action, they're automatically available.

Some people consider dolls creepy enough, but what if that deceptively cute toy was listening to everything you said and, worse yet, letting creeps speak through it? According to The Center for Digital Democracy, a pair of smart toys designed to engage with children in new and entertaining ways are rife with security and privacy holes. The watchdog group was so concerned, they filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission on Dec. 6 (you can read the full complaint here). A similar one was also filed in Europe by the Norwegian Consumer Council. SEE ALSO: Microsoft's Home Hub aims to turn the PC into an Amazon Echo "This complaint concerns toys that spy," reads the complaint, which claims the Genesis Toys' My Friend Cayla and i-QUE Intelligent Robot can record and collect private conversations and offer no limitations on the collection and use of personal information.

Samsung's next-generation Galaxy smartphone appears to be poised to beat Apple's upcoming iPhone 8 to the punch now that Bloomberg has corroborated much of SamMobile's report saying the Galaxy S8 will be a bezel-free device with a wraparound display featuring an in-screen Home button. The phone should be unveiled in February 2018 and launch in March. That way, the Samsung device should enjoy a six-month lead over the iPhone 8's expected fall arrival. However, the Korean giant is considering scrapping plans for a dual-camera on the Galaxy S8 due to "higher manufacturing costs", one of the sources told the news gathering organization. "Samsung will create an all-screen front for the Galaxy S8 smartphones coming out next year and scrap the physical Home button," people with direct knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg.

IOT is rapidly developing from a telecoms connected to "everything" to a new generation of services that are starting to connect markets with new capabilities. Two major polarizations are the consumer-IOT and the Industrial-IOT. On the consumer side, the products of Amazon Echo Alexa, Google Home and a plethora of other connected home and lifestyle IOT consumer products are flooding the market. The Industrial IOT perhaps born for the Industry4.0

Every major technology company is obsessed with voice control right now. From Amazon's Alexa speakers to Google's new Pixel phones -- almost everything has an assistant which you can strike a conversation with. Not wanting to be left out, Microsoft is still hard at work on Cortana for Windows 10 and various mobile operating systems. Today, the company has announced a "fresh" and "simplified look" for the iOS and Android apps which lean heavily on the color purple. The apps are faster than before, and a new Quick Actions section puts your most common requests front and center, such as reminders, meetings and weather summaries.

Under, behind and inside many of the apps we use every day, a revolution is underway. It's a revolution that started decades ago but today is empowering companies to deliver better, smarter services with greater ease and on broader scales than ever before. At Singularity University's inaugural Global Summit, Neil Jacobstein, chair of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, provided a primer showing how artificial intelligence literally transforms everything it touches. First of all, it's critical to define the scope of artificial intelligence (AI), which can be categorized into four areas: techniques in pattern recognition, software agency (that is, software that acts like real users), an exponential technology that is accelerating other exponential technologies, and a vision of a future superhuman intelligence (that fortunately hasn't happened yet). Anyone who has seen a science fiction film is likely familiar with this last area, but it's the other three areas where AI is making huge strides at a revolutionary pace.

I had tried every dating site and app out there with varying degrees of success, and I was totally over them. I was tired of the "first date" and even more tired of never going on a second date. Then a friend told me about yet another app -- Bumble. This one sounded different: The girl has to message the guy first, and she only has 24 hours to do it after you match, or the connection disappears forever. It doesn't hurt to try, right?

Cortana is the star of a big new Windows 10 Insider Preview build. Microsoft says that voice control of your PC was one its "top requests," so the latest update now lets you shutdown, restart, lock or sleep your system using the voice assistant. You can also use natural language to play music on two apps (iHeartRadio and TuneIn) by saying "Play Drake on iHeartRadio," for instance. Once the music starts, you can use your voice to control playback and volume. If you request a song or genre without specifying the app, it'll remember the last one you used and play it from that. It also lets you find a track name from any music app by saying, "hey Cortana, what song is playing?"

Amazon is teaming up with semiconductor and voice solutions provider Conexant to bring Alexa to even more devices, the companies announced Thursday. The companies plan to expand the market of voice enabled digital assistants powered by Amazon's Alexa with the creation of the AudioSmart 2-mic Development Kit for smart home appliances. The kit is designed to connect to a Raspberry Pi, a small, credit-card sized computer which can be used in electronics projects. This will allow third-party manufacturers and developers to create Alexa-enabled devices to enable virtual assistance in products. The solution can be used to enable voice commands in home devices, such as smart speakers, thermostats, smart light bulbs and smart TVs, Conexant says.