You can hardly talk to a technology executive or developer today without talking about artificial intelligence, machine learning or bots. Madrona recently hosted a conference on ML and AI, bringing together some of the biggest technology companies and innovative startups in the Intelligent Application ecosystem. One of the key themes for the event emerged from a survey of the attendees. Everybody who responded to the survey said that ML is either important or very important to their company and industry. However, more than half of the respondents said their organizations did not have adequate expertise in ML to be able to do what they need to do.

The way in which people engage with brands has changed. Gone are the days when it was a one-way interaction; younger demographics especially love a value-add exchange with brands they can identify with. Chatbots have been heralded as one way of opening up the channels, but as with every new marketing tech innovation, you need to get it right. Brands need access to tech that can do the job well and not make the experience clunky and robotic. One company that recognises this issue is Israel/US based imperson.

In March this year, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella talked about the industry trend of using human language more pervasively for interaction with computing devices, a trend he called "conversation as a platform." He also announced several bot initiatives, including the company's bot framework. In April, Facebook launched its Messenger platform with bots. Then, in May, Google announced its attempt to develop AI-powered bots, called Google Assistant. Since then, bots have been widely regarded as a new user interface (UI) to fundamentally change how computing will be experienced by people.

Who here remembers taking computer programming in school? Whether you learned programming by punching holes in a never ending series of cards, or by writing simple DOS or other computer language commands, the fact remained that computers needed an incredibly precise set of instructions to accomplish a task. The more complicated the task, the more complicated your instructions had to be. Machine learning is inherently different. Rather than telling a computer exactly how to solve a problem, the programmer instead tells it how to go about learning to solve the problem for itself.

Technology is changing the way we live. Innovative products like smartwatches, virtual assistants like Siri and Cortana, and self-driving cars are raising the bar on expectations. So why shouldn't that change be reflected in the way we work? Business Insider spoke to Dave Wright, the chief strategy officer at cloud computing business ServiceNow about what they're doing to improve processes and productivity and the workplace, as well as trends we're likely to see in the future. But first if you're not sure what ServiceNow does, here's how Wright explains it.

Apple Inc. acquired artificial intelligence startup Turi Inc. for about 200 million, according to people familiar with the situation, in the latest deal by the iPhone maker to accumulate advanced computing capabilities for its products and services. Turi helps developers create and manage software and services that use a form of AI called machine learning. It also has systems that let companies to build recommendation engines, detect fraud, analyze customer usage patterns and better target potential users, according to the Seattle-based startup's website. Apple could use this to more rapidly integrate the technology with future products. Apple's move Friday is part of a broader battle among Google, Facebook Inc. and Amazon.com

Back in December, I wrote a detailed piece about the potential for artificial intelligence streamlining the real estate industry through automation. Eight months on, and there is increasing evidence of just how big an impact there could be for machine learning in real estate. The most recent evidence, launched in mid-July, is TouchAssist, created by Touch Commerce, which promises to "enable brands to offer intelligent automated conversations leading consumers to self-serve on digital channels". The idea is to create a'smart' virtual assistant (or'chat bot') which can answer customer queries or book in property viewings, whilst simultaneously gathering analytical and KPI data. Wherever the bot fails to answer a customer question, a human customer operator steps in, and the machine continues to listen in and learn more answers.

A version of this essay was originally published at Tech.pinions, a website dedicated to informed opinions, insight and perspective on the tech industry. There has been a lot of talk recently about advancements in the smart home arena, especially about new ways to control smart home devices. I have heard Amazon's Echo referred to as a smart home device, and just this week, web service IFTTT announced new partnerships that are intended to allow smart home devices to connect in an automated fashion to other devices and services. However, what we're still missing when it comes to the smart home is a true smart home assistant -- a counterpart, if you will, to the smart assistants that come baked into every modern smartphone operating system. This post dives into what that means in practice, and who might be best positioned to deliver on this vision.

A sinister threat is brewing deep inside the technology laboratories of Silicon Valley, according to Professor Stephen Hawking. Artificial Intelligence, disguised as helpful digital assistants and self-driving vehicles, is gaining a foothold, and it could one day spell the end for mankind. The world-renowned professor has warned robots could evolve faster than humans and their goals will be unpredictable. Professor Stephen Hawking (pictured) claimed AI would be difficult to stop if the appropriate safeguards are not in place. During a talk in Cannes, Google's chairman Eric Schmidt said AI will be developed for the benefit of humanity and there will be systems in place in case anything goes awry. 'We've all seen those movies,' he said.