Google have snapped up API.AI, a Silicon Valley startup specialising in building tools for natural language understanding in mobiles, web applications and devices. The details of the financial transaction have not been disclosed. Launched in 2014, API.AI quickly recognised the growing trend in companies interested in giving their technology a voice. "We've been constantly impressed by the fast and energetic adoption of the technology from people building conversational interfaces for chatbots, connected cars, smart home devices, mobile applications, wearables, services, robots and more," Ilya Gelfenbeyn, CEO of API.AI, said. The company's API works in three steps.

Apple unveiled a new app - called TV - at its Mac event Thursday, promising users will have all of their digital TV content in one place. The app will bring services from services like HBO, iTunes purchases and live content. Apple's new TV app will be available on iOS and Apple TV and is free. The app also works with Siri, so you can use voice commands to find your favorite shows. The app integrates the single-sign on feature, which was previously introduced earlier this year.

No matter how many USB chargers I accumulate, I can never find one to charge my phone before I climb into bed. The LampChamp won't fix that problem for me because have an atypical bedside lamp, but it might work for you. The LampChamp has a male E27 base on one end, a female E27 socket on the other, and a USB Type A socket on the side that puts out 2.0 amps of power to charge your phone, tablet, or e-reader. If you have a newer phone or any other device that's equipped with a USB Type C charging socket, you've probably already stopped reading. While it will work with a Type C cable that's Type A at the other end, it won't charge your phone as quickly as possible.

Apple on Thursday announced a handful of updates coming to its Apple TV set-top box. The biggest change will be the introduction of a new TV app, which essentially functions as a TV guide for your numerous streaming apps. Here's a closer look at what Apple announced during a media event: Apple's new TV app is designed to surface content from various streaming apps, like HBO Go and Hulu, and house them in one easily browsable place. The "Up Next" section, for example, will act as a hub for content you've already started watching across all of these services. If you started a movie but didn't finish it, the "Up Next" tab will let you pick up where you left off.

Virtual assistants - such as the iPhone's Siri and Microsoft's Cortana - are included on smartphones and computers to make life easier, allowing users to issue commands, such as "call mum", or easily search for nearby facilities such as restaurants and petrol stations. But Eckstein believes five per cent of interactions with his company's chatbot are now sexually explicit. He also claims a third of conversations take place for no particular reason, with many users just wanting to chat. Deborah Harrison, a writer for Microsoft's Cortana, told the Virtual Assistant Summit earlier this year that "a good chunk of the volume of early-on inquiries" were about the chatbot's sex life. The issue has inspired films such as Her, which was released in 2013 and tells the tale of a lonely writer, who becomes obsessed with his operating system's virtual assistant, voiced by Scarlett Johansson.

"The holy grail of a chatbot or virtual assistant is to help you adjust your behavior, telling you when to save more or spend in order to reach certain goals," said Lex Sokolin, global director of fintech research for Autonomous Research. Could UBS clients soon be serviced by voice-controlled AI? Maybe not yet, but a new pilot program between the bank and Amazon's Alexa service is testing the frontiers of both science fiction and wealth management. UBS' partnership with Amazon will enable clients and non-clients of the bank to get answers to financial and economic questions, ranging from what is inflation to how the U.S. economy is faring. It's the latest example of how wealth management firms are experimenting with new technologies such as data analytics and artificial intelligence to expand or reinvent the business.

The device is designed to cater to artists and creative professionals. It comes with a starting price of $2,999. In terms of looks, it feels similar to the iMac, since it comes with a large desktop and a detached keyboard and mouse. How does the Surface Studio fare in comparison to the iMac? The Surface Studio comes in both Intel Core i5 and i7 versions, while the iMac comes with just an i5 option.

Email This Article NEW YORK (Reuters) - Artificial intelligence programs have beaten chess masters and TV quiz show champions. Two exchange operators have announced plans to launch artificial intelligence tools for market surveillance in the coming months and officials at a Wall Street regulator tell Reuters they are not far behind. Executives are hoping computers with humanoid wit can help mere mortals catch misbehavior more quickly. The software could, for instance, scrub chat-room messages to detect dubious bragging or back slapping around the time of a big trade. It could also more quickly unravel complex issues, like "layering," where orders are rapidly sent to exchanges and then canceled to artificially move a stock price.

General Motors has partnered with IBM to add the latter's artificial intelligence smarts to its cars. IBM's Watson will be used to augment GM's OnStar service, which currently offers features like vehicle tracking and turn-by-turn navigation for a monthly subscription fee. The upgraded OnStar Go, though, seems to be more about advertising than anything else. GM says the main use will be to let drivers "connect and interact with their favorite brands," with Watson crunching data on users habits to deliver personalized services. Depending on your outlook, some of these services could be genuinely useful.

With Halloween just around the corner, what better way to mark the day than telling stories of wail and woe about the technology that wants to kill, terrify, or bring about the end of society as we know it. ZDNet's bloggers, writers, and editors have come up with a list enough to scare the wits out of you. Cars that will drive you off this mortal coil. Phones that will blow up in your pocket (yes, we're looking at you, Samsung). Why not ask your iPhone, "Siri, are you giving all of my data to the government?"