At a recent financial technology conference I was invited to meet Cleo, a friendly automated spirit living within the confines of an iPhone interface that offers financial advice to those who chose to activate her. Described as an "AI assistant for your money," she playfully answered text message queries about bank balances, spending, and budgeting. Despite the futuristic jargon and growing wave of hype around such bots, automated assistants are not really that new. Our world is full of simple bots, like the automatic hand dryer in a public restroom that jets hot air if you trigger its sensor. By now many of us have experience with some that attempt to mimic basic personality, like the tinny voice of the supermarket self-service checkout machine as it coldly attempts to replicate one half of a stilted, human conversation. There are two new trends emerging, though.

Apple is developing an upgrade to its TV box to turn it into a'Siri speaker' for the home. The move would put Apple in a three way battle with Amazon and Google. It is also set to allow app makers to access its smart assistant, it has been revealed. The move would put Apple in a three way battle with Amazon and Google. It is unclear whether Apple could also release a separate, standalone speaker.

Even though we use our iPhones all day, every day, there are still a handful of features that are relatively unknown. Some of these features are buried in the Settings menu, while others are hidden in plain sight. Plus, there are a few things Siri can do for you that you may not know about. You can respond to texts directly from your lock screen by pulling down on the notification drawer and swiping over to the left on the text notification. You'll see a "Reply" option, and tapping it will let you type a response without having to unlock your iPhone.

This post is co-authored by Ke Huang, Data Scientist, and Tao Wu, Principal Data Scientist Manager, at Microsoft. To succeed as a business, a professional sports team must know its fans well. From ticket sales to merchandise to concessions, having a great understanding of the fans is critical to all aspects of customer engagement and revenue generation. In the age of big data, sports organizations are discovering the power of the Cortana Intelligence Suite to connect to fans and achieve higher sales. The Portland Trail Blazers, an NBA franchise known for its passionate fans, is teaming up with Microsoft and using data-driven insights to increase ticket sales.

Michael Gartenberg has covered the personal technology beat for more than two decades at places like Gartner, Jupiter Research and Altimeter Group. Most recently, he spent a few years at Apple as Sr. Director of Worldwide Product Marketing. I'm afraid I can't do that – HAL 900 Apple is the new Blackberry is the latest twist on "Apple is DOOMED". Apple may be missing out on Artificial Intelligence and/or Machine Learning. Alexa, Facebooks "bots", and Google's new Assistant, clearly, there's a huge sea change that's happening, and Apple is going to be left out.

Both research teams have picked the college campus as their starting point. They believe observing interactions between thousands of students and their faculty will help them develop a conversational system that has an EQ to match its IQ. The potential for emotional awareness already sets this AI apart from Siri. Digital assistants on the phone rely on rule-based technologies to come up with appropriate responses to your questions. So, in a way, the answers are scripted.

Are you familiar with the Tensor Processor Unit or "TPU"? It is a brand new processing unit, or chip, unveiled last week at Google's I/O conference keynote. This "accelerator" chip - which can fit into a hard drive slot in Google's data center rack - can speed up machine learning processes, the science and technology that imitates, extends and/or increases human intelligence with machines. This chip has two advantages; it is energy-efficient and it can advance Moore's Law seven years into the future according to Google! Man vs. Machine The "TPU" is already operational and has proven itself already.

Just in case you haven't been introduced, there's Tinder, a location-based dating app that matches up strangers; Hinge, a mobile app that accesses friends of friends on Facebook; Bumble, the app where chicks are in control; and The League, a dating app for elitists. And let's not forget old standbys Match, JDate, PlentyofFish, OurTime, and OkCupid, which also have apps.

Cortana is easily one of my favorite features in Windows 10. I use it every day for getting amusing, snarky answers to questions, setting calendar appointments and reminders, sending emails, or doing quick web searches. But those are just its most obvious uses. There are numerous lesser-known ways you can incorporate Microsoft's digital assistant into your life. Here are four useful tips.

Google Home is an always-on speaker coming later this year. LOS ANGELES - We know that Big Brother has been watching our every move for years--but are you ready to have your home conversations monitored as well? Following on the footsteps of Amazon's smash Echo connected speaker, which reads the weather and news, plays music, and turns lights on and off, based on your voice instructions, Google is set to launch its rival product, Google Home, later this year. And this week reports surfaced saying Apple could be joining the fray with its own speaker featuring the Siri personal digital assistant from the iPhone. Which begs the question--how do you feel about buying a connected speaker for the kitchen that could listen to every word you're saying?