Google is offering Parsey McParseface and SyntaxNet to interested developers that want to integrate artificial intelligence to their application and system projects without having to build their own platform from scratch. SyntaxNet will be an open-sourced neural network framework that can be used by developers to create software that could have the capabilities to understand how the human language works. Google is also rolling out Parsey McParseface as a parser for the English language. AI is a highly-complicated subject but there is no doubt that the advancements in technology has improved the platform. Digital assistants such as Siri, Alexa and Cortana are products of good AI technology.

A Kansas Tinder user was recently kidnapped, beaten and held against her will for six days by a man she met via the app. Shane Steven Allen faces one charge of kidnapping and four of aggravated battery. Should the convictions go through, Allen could serve a 32 year prison sentence. The woman, a 20 year-old student at the University of Kansas, was kidnapped on April 12th and was returned to her sorority on April 18th with multiple injuries including a pair of black eyes, broken blood vessels in her eyes and multiple bruises and abrasions, according to local news outlet Lawrence Journal World.

The winds of change are blowing through Silicon Valley--not terribly unusual, granted, considering that something new seems to come out of that part of the world several times a year. But this time, we seem to be witnessing the opening of what promises to be a sea of change in computing: The joining of all our devices--including computers, smartphones, smart homes, and even smart cars--with the virtual synapses of a serviceable artificial intelligence, complete with realistic conversational abilities. We've already seen some earlier attempts at realizing this dream. But, some sassy dialogue notwithstanding, these machine "intelligences" have notorious limitations, something the designers of the newest entrant on the scene, Viv, hope to do away with once and for all. Viv's creators, Dag Kittlaus and Adam Cheyer--who also created Siri, before selling it to Apple--hope that their newest creation will become the portal through which users interface with the internet.

When you inform Siri to set an alarm for five am, she'll set an alarm for five am. However for those who begin asking her which prescription ache killer is least more likely to upset your abdomen, she's probably not gonna know what to do--simply because that's a reasonably difficult sentence. Siri is a great distance from what laptop scientists name "pure language understanding." She will be able to't actually perceive the pure manner we people discuss--regardless of the way in which Apple portrays her in all these TV advertisements. In actual fact, we shouldn't actually be speaking about her as a "her" in any respect.

Imagine if your teaching assistant was actually a robot--and looked like Alicia Vikander. A picture of the "Ex Machina" lead actress graces a Wall Street Journal article that explores students' surprise when they discovered one of their teaching assistants was, in fact, a bot. Her responses--which fooled even former IBM employees--were based on looking through nearly 40,000 questions and answers on a discussion forum. Ashok Goel, the professor who teaches the online Georgia Tech computer science course, believes that bots like Jill can answer 40 percent of all students' questions--many of the mundane variety--within a year. Best quote of the story goes to a student: "We're taking an artificial intelligence class. There should be some artificial intelligence here."

If you tell Siri to set an alarm for 5 am, she'll set an alarm for 5 am. But if you start asking her which prescription pain killer is least likely to upset your stomach, she's not really gonna know what to do--just because that's a pretty complicated sentence. Siri is a long way from what computer scientists call "natural language understanding." She can't truly understand the natural way we humans talk--despite the way Apple portrays her in all those TV ads. In fact, we shouldn't really be talking about her as a "her" at all.

Google is expected to hit the smart home market in a big way with a new device codenamed Chirp. According to a report from Recode, the tech titan is moving in on the turf carved out by Amazon's Echo with its own voice-activated assistant for the home. The device probably won't see the light of day until later this year, though we may see some hints of what's to come by reading between the lines at Google's developers conference in San Francisco next week. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Google has been focused on the smart home for years, and in 2014 forecast broader ambitions in the space by buying smart appliance maker Nest for 3.2 billion.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) "voices" listen, react and integrate with consumer devices. How can brands tap into this, and how can it benefit consumers? The absence of screens and the presence of a new voice is the reality of AI in the home. The Amazon Echo (fondly known as Alexa) listens and reacts to whomever is talking to it. Alexa will let you know how much food is in your fridge, check your work calendar, and answer almost any question.

This week we take a look at some recent developments in the realms of personalized shopping and artificial intelligence (AI) in ecommerce. Retailers, digital marketplaces, social networks and department stores are all trying to figure out the best way to deliver personalized, data-driven customer experience. Many companies see artificial intelligence as the answer to improve the shopping interface and user experience, while other marketers turn to personalized targeting methods and omni-channel strategies. In exploring these technological advances, it must be understood that not all innovations are profitable. These ideas have promises and risks, and their efficacy will ultimately be tested and decided by the customer. Last week, eBay acquired Expertmaker, a Swedish company that focused on artificial intelligence, machine learning and big data analytics.

Muttering "OK Google" may soon become useful all around your house, as Google reportedly preps an Amazon Echo rival dubbed "Chirp" that will extend the company's voice and search capabilities into the home. Following up on earlier rumors about a Google-powered Echo clone, Recode claims that Google will showcase voice search and intelligent assistant capabilities at its I/O conference next week, with Chirp itself expected to debut later this year. The surprising part isn't that Google may be creating an Echo rival but rather that it's taken so long to do so. Google has big smart home ambitions, the power of Google Now and search, top-notch voice recognition technology, and even an appropriate form factor with the OnHub router (pictured above)--which Recode says Chirp's design will mimic. Google also owns Nest and its line of smart home products.