Many users see it as the most advanced and useful of the voice-activated virtual servants, improving upon efforts from Apple, Google and Microsoft despite Amazon having less of a visible track record in artificial intelligence. Much of the artificial intelligence software that powers the Echo was developed at Amazon's research and development base in Cambridge after the company bought Evi, an artificial intelligence startup in 2013. Since the Echo has an always-on microphone that is constantly listening and stores a history of commands in order to learn from them, it has raised snooping fears. Limp sought to dismiss these concerns, saying that the device will only record when activated by the "Alexa" wake word, and that a button on the device can mute the microphone. Users will also be able to delete any previous queries on Amazon's app.

Technology is advancing at an incredibly rapid pace. For most of us, robots and artificial intelligence systems are welcomed with open arms – something that can often make our lives easier. But the concern that they could replace human jobs has long been an issue. According to a new report from market research company Forrester, bots and AIs will have eliminated 6 percent of all US jobs by 2021. Digital assistants such as Microsoft's Cortana, Amazon's Alexa, and Apple's Siri don't yet have the human-like intelligence seen in AIs from the movies, but they are getting smarter all the time.

Amazon has confirmed its virtual assistant Echo speakers are coming to the UK and Germany. Until now, the company sold its voice-controlled devices only in the US. The machines can answer questions, control other internet-connected devices, build shopping lists and link in to dozens of third-party services including Spotify, Uber and BBC News. Experts say they appeal to early adopters' sense of curiosity but tend to be a harder sell to others. Amazon told a press conference in London that the devices would become available in the two European countries on 28 September.

The techniques Microsoft Research used to achieve a new world-best error rate will eventually enhance the Cortana Windows 10 personal assistant. Microsoft claims to have achieved the world's lowest error rate for speech recognition, as the company jostles with Amazon, Apple, Google, and IBM to develop products that understand speech as well as humans can. According to Microsoft, its speech scientists at Microsoft Research have achieved a word error rate (WER) of just 6.3 percent under an industry-standard evaluation, using techniques that will eventually enhance Cortana. The previous lowest error rate was 6.9 percent, achieved by IBM's Watson team, which beat their own record of eight percent set last year. Both Microsoft and IBM presented papers detailing their work on speech recognition at the Interspeech conference in San Francisco this week, where papers were also presented by Google's speech researchers.

Nasa has announced that it has found evidence of flowing water on Mars. Scientists have long speculated that Recurring Slope Lineae -- or dark patches -- on Mars were made up of briny water but the new findings prove that those patches are caused by liquid water, which it has established by finding hydrated salts. Several hundred camped outside the London store in Covent Garden. The 6s will have new features like a vastly improved camera and a pressure-sensitive "3D Touch" display

Nasa has announced that it has found evidence of flowing water on Mars. Scientists have long speculated that Recurring Slope Lineae -- or dark patches -- on Mars were made up of briny water but the new findings prove that those patches are caused by liquid water, which it has established by finding hydrated salts. Several hundred camped outside the London store in Covent Garden. The 6s will have new features like a vastly improved camera and a pressure-sensitive "3D Touch" display

It took more than two years, but Amazon's connected speaker, the Echo, has finally arrived in Europe. At a launch event in London today, the company confirmed that the standard Echo and the Echo Dot (both in a new white color) will soon go on sale UK and Germany, bringing with them the retailer's clever AI assistant, Alexa -- who now has an English accent. Pre-orders open later today, with a new white variant of the 150/ 180 Echo shipping on September 28th, while the 50/ 50/ 60 Dot will arrive on October 20th. For the next two days, Amazon UK is knocking of 50 for Prime customers. In the US, Echo users have enjoyed the fruits of numerous partnerships Amazon has struck up over the years. With Alexa's help, owners have been able to hail a cab via Uber, control their smart door lock and even have their Twitter timeline read back to them.

At its London event today, Amazon didn't just announce European availability of the Echo, it also dropped a couple of global announcements too. Perhaps the biggest surprise was the existence of a new white Echo and Echo Dot, which will launch in Europe and the US in the coming weeks. In the case of the Dot, it's not just a color refresh: the product itself has been given a new voice chip that is capable of detecting where you are in a room, and it's also getting that rumored price drop. Amazon's so convinced that you'll want more than one, it's offering Dot bundle packs, which like the Fire tablet, let you to buy six for the price of five but also buy 10 and grab two extra free. If you're interested in adding a white Echo to your home but want to see if it'll fit in, we've got you covered.

Artificial Intelligence has always been a hot topic. The problem of creating a machine that can think, make its own decisions and at the same time lacks human limitations, has always aroused controversies. We all remember what the infamous Skynet has done to our planet in Terminator series, right? We can also recall this nasty feeling of a cold shiver running down our spines when Neo has woken up from the Matrix. After watching such films, we can wonder why our scientists want to build intelligent machines in a first place. One would ask: why putting humanity at risk?

Gartner tracks emerging technologies in its annual Hype Cycle reports that enable organisations to increase this interconnection, allowing for the real-time exchange of vast quantities of data, and for increased intelligence, complex analysis and decision making in real time. To help IT leaders understand significant technology trends, Gartner analysts looked across all 109 Hype Cycles and noted four high-level megatrends trends that track the evolution of digital business technologies, services and business models. "New digital business models require ecosystems of people, businesses and technologies that must scale beyond the enterprise," said Betsy Burton, vice president and distinguished analyst. Since 2008, cloud, data, mobile and social (the Nexus of Forces) have dramatically affected people's lives, business interactions, social change and global economies. These massive collections of technologies and the resulting changes in business models and human behaviour have accelerated the interconnection of technology, business and humans, and given rise to digital business.