For decades, science fiction authors, futurists, and movie makers alike have been predicting the amazing (and sometimes catastrophic) changes that will arise with the advent of widespread artificial intelligence. So far, AI hasn't made any such crazy waves, and in many ways has quietly become ubiquitous in numerous aspects of our daily lives. From the intelligent sensors that help us take perfect pictures, to the automatic parking features in cars, to the sometimes frustrating personal assistants in smartphones, artificial intelligence of one kind of another is all around us, all the time. While we've yet to create self-aware robots like those that pepper popular movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Star Wars, we have made smart and often significant use of AI technology in a wide range of applications that, while not as mind-blowing as androids, still change our day-to-day lives. One place where artificial intelligence is poised to make big changes (and in some cases already is) is in education.

"Star Trek" first took viewers on a voyage to the Final Frontier 50 years ago on Sept. 8, 1966. That's when the original television show aired on NBC, introducing pop culture to a crew that would become iconic over the following half-century. But "Star Trek's" vision of the future didn't just inspire adoration for the swashbuckling Captain James T. Kirk or his logically inclined first officer, Spock. It also helped spur innovators to create technologies that have changed the way people live in the real world. Here are a few examples of the "Star Trek" tech that's now reality.

Amazon's digital assistant will soon be able to talk to you even if you haven't issued a voice command, according to a new paywalled report from The Information. As the outlet put it, your Echo could tell you when your Uber has arrived rather than waiting for you to ask it about your ride's status, for example. Amazon did not immediately respond to Mashable's request for comment about the update, which may come later this fall. Imagine if Siri could pipe up about a package delivery when you're in the middle of an intimate dinner While it may seem inconsequential, this would represent a major shift for the product and the entire category of personal, internet-connected assistants. Over 4 million Amazon Echo devices have been sold, so a more independent Alexa would help ease a lot of people into the idea of conversing with a robot -- as long as they don't mind a disembodied voice floating through their homes at odd moments.

It is something that many companies are trying at the moment, with Google, Microsoft and Facebook all introducing personal assistants that are equivalents of Apple's Siri, originally created in 2010. Since then, with the introduction of technologies and collaborations with companies like Wolfram Alpha (who also work with several other companies), Siri has improved, but not to the extent that its potential is crying out for. One of the clearest examples of this was their move to a neural net based system in 2014, which significantly improved the virtual assistant, but still didn't allow it to achieve what many expected. In fact, few even noticed a difference.

At Apple's iPhone 7 unveiling in San Francisco on Wednesday, the tech powerhouse revealed a host of new and updated hardware and software, including a new type of headphone jack and souped-up camera. As expected, iPhone is removing the standard analog headphone jack and forcing headphones to use its "Lightning" connector, which plugs into the phone's charging port. The iPhone 7 will come with an adapter so older earphones can still be used. But Apple is pushing Apple AirPods, which CEO Tim Cook says are a "breakthrough design," wireless headphones that sync across all Apple devices and respond to touch that can access Siri. The AirPods are shipping in late October and cost 160.

Amazon announced on Thursday an upgraded Fire HD 8 tablet with improved specifications and the arrival of its Alexa voice assistant to the mobile platform for the first time. Amazon's Echo Dot, Tap, Alexa equate to Amazon Everywhere strategy The company's Alexa platform--along with integration with third parties and replenishment systems like Dash--highlight an ambitious smart home and Internet of things effort. Now available to purchase on Amazon, the Fire HD 8's price has been dropped to 90 from 150 with the same 8-inch display and 1,280x800-pixel resolution, along with the addition of a larger 4,750mAh battery with a claimed 12 hours of charge, 1.5GB of RAM, 16GB or 32GB of storage, and a microSD slot for upgraded storage. If you're expecting a beast of tablet to take on the iPad or Galaxy Tab -- think again. However, the addition of the Alexa voice assistant is a promising feature, as we've seen with the hot sales and positive reviews of Amazon's Alexa-powered Echo speakers. Alexa, working similar to Google Now and Siri, can serve users with voice-prompted information like weather, news, and interestingly enough, an Uber.

Amazon's Alexa is present in millions of living rooms by way of the Echo speaker and the Fire TV. Now, Amazon's virtual assistant is coming to tablets with new 89.99 Fire HD 8, the company announced Thursday. Amazon is also pushing Alexa to last year's Fire HD 8 tablet as well as the 49.99 Fire and 229.99 Fire 10 through a free software update over the coming months. The new Fire HD 8 will be up for pre-order starting Thursday in 16GB or 32GB storage options.

Welcome to your hearable future. At the launch of the iPhone 7 yesterday, Apple announced that it was ditching the white headphone wires that have been an icon of the brand since 2003. Instead, listeners will use AirPods, a pair of wireless earbuds that connect to the phone over Bluetooth. Ditching the headphone jack allows the iPhone 7 to shrink even slimmer, and losing a hole makes the phone more water resistant. But this is also the latest case of Apple using its flagship product to bring a tech trend to the masses – get ready for "hearables" doing battle for the ownership of your ears.

Apple last week proudly rolled out some new capabilities for Siri, which will presumably take effect with iOS 10's rollout on Wednesday (Sept. The changes address one of my long-sought capabilities, which is to make getting a ride a lot easier. Alas, it demands more specificity than would be optimal. Apple's announcement promised transportation ease but didn't quite deliver it. From Apple: "You can ask Siri to call a friend or colleague or book a ride to wherever you need to be. With SiriKit, developers are creating unique ways to let users interact with apps, making everyday tasks even easier."

While Apple and others are struggling a bit to interest new customers in tablets (and existing ones in upgrading the hearty devices), Amazon has been happily selling a line of extremely low-cost Android devices featuring its own Fire OS. The strategy has vaulted Amazon into the Number 3 spot in tablet shipments and now the company is targeting the iPad mini with the Amazon Fire HD 8, a new 89.99 8-inch model that also includes the Amazon Alexa voice assistant. SEE ALSO: Coming to Amazon in September: Woody Allen series, 'Transparent' Season 3 and more To put that price tag in perspective, Apple currently sells its base, 16 GB iPad mini 4 for 399 (the mini 2 starts at 269). The 89.99 gets you a decent, but not remarkable 1280-by-800 screen, below-average front (2MP) and rear-facing (VGA) cameras, a 1.3 GHz quad-core processor, 1.5 GB of RAM (couldn't go for a full 2, huh?) and Dolby Audio-powered stereo speakers. The last generation iPad Mini 2 beats the Fire HD 8 on most metrics.