It's quite common to see deals on smart speakers, but they're not often as tempting as this one. Best Buy is selling the original Google Home for just $30, or less than a third of its official $100 price. That's better than the $50 from not long ago, and puts it at the same price that you'd currently pay for the considerably less capable Nest Mini. You can find the speaker for ever-so-slightly less at the Google Store if you'd rather go direct. The Home's design may seem a bit old compared to newer Google smart speakers, but it's still capable.

Now might be a prime opportunity to shop if you're looking for a connected alarm clock or a video viewer for the kitchen. Amazon is offering substantial discounts on its Echo Show smart displays, with the Echo Show 5 on sale for $50 ($40 off) and the larger Echo Show 8 selling for $80 ($50 off). Those match price drops we saw on Black Friday, and could make them tempting compared to audio-only smart speakers. The Echo Show 5 is clearly meant as a nightstand companion and won't blow you away with its 5-inch screen, but it delivers better sound quality than you'd expect for the size while including helpful alarm clock features like a sunrise alarm and an ambient light sensor. The Echo Show 8 can fill that role, but its 8-inch display makes it the better of the two for following recipes or catching up on your Netflix queue.

Research is clear: customer service is one of the biggest drivers of customer loyalty. In fact, 78 percent of U.S. consumers say customer service is important to loyalty, according to Netomi's State of Customer Service 2020 report. Increasingly, customers expect support that is fast, personal, and effective. To deliver the experience that customers expect, companies are adopting AI to provide immediate resolutions that bring customer delight and business value. But in the race to automation, there are seven common pitfalls that companies should avoid to ensure higher customer satisfaction and a successful AI program.

Cloud ERP platforms ought to produce a self-learning information system involving machine learning across all provider networks. A cloud-based infrastructure combined with core ERP net Services and apps give a gentle stream of knowledge to AI and machine learning algorithms that accelerates the training of entire system creating a better business ahead. Virtual agents have the potential to redefine several areas production operations, from pick-by-voice systems to advanced inspection. Apple's Siri, Amazon's Alexa, Google Voice, and Microsoft Cortana have the potential to be changed to contour operations tasks and processes, providing direction to complicated tasks. Design in the Internet of Things (IoT) support at the data structure level to realize quick wins as data collection pilots go live and scale.

If you've been having trouble waking Google Assistant on your Google smart speakers and displays--or, on the flip side, if the assistant is occasionally waking by accident--there's a new Google Home setting that might help. Rolling out now to Google Home and Nest devices, the "Hey Google" sensitivity setting lets you determine how sensitive a given device is when it comes to listening for the "Hey Google" or "OK Google" wake words. You can find the setting (which was originally announced last fall before getting a quick preview a week ago) by opening the Google Home app, tapping one of your Google Home/Nest speakers or displays, and then tapping the Device settings button. You should see the "Hey Google" sensitivity setting about two-thirds of the way down the Device settings screen. Tap it, then use the slider to make your Google device either more responsive or less responsive to the "Hey Google" or "OK Google" wake words.

From the implementation of self-serve ATMs in the 1960s to the widespread use of computers in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Fintech has always been the cutting edge space for innovation that directly impacts the consumer. It's no surprise then that the banking industry spent nearly $30 billion on data and business analytics tools and software in 2019. Business Insider Intelligence estimates that banks can save as much as $447 billion through artificial intelligence by 2023, by using it for customer service, anti-fraud efforts, and underwriting support. Additionally, banks have been cited to use AI tech far more than many other industry, with 75% of banks already doing this to some degree. It's the consumer-side of banking that presents the greatest opportunity for AI integration, however.

We all enjoy sharing jokes with friends, hoping a witty one might elicit a smile--or maybe even a belly laugh. A lawyer opened the door of his BMW, when, suddenly, a car came along and hit the door, ripping it off completely. When the police arrived at the scene, the lawyer was complaining bitterly about the damage to his precious BMW. "Officer, look what they've done to my Beeeeemer!" he whined. "You lawyers are so materialistic, you make me sick!" retorted the officer.

The term artificial intelligence has been around since 1956; however many people don't truly understand what it means or how it affects their lives on a daily basis. Visions of robot overlords and sentient computers, no doubt the product of science fiction and pop culture, seem to always be attached to AI. But today, AI permeates all manner of things, from spam filters, to personalized recommendations, to voice assistants like Siri, Alexa and Cortana. While AI and machine learning are extraordinarily useful for completing manual tasks faster and more efficiently than human beings, science is always pushing the boundaries of what AI can do. In the business world, large enterprises are under constant pressure to close the gap with customers, to innovate how they engage, and to act with empathy – as a means to develop deeper (and ultimately more valuable) relationships. AI technologies provide a potential means to achieve that level of intimacy.

Billionaire investor Mark Cuban is bullish on the future of artificial intelligence and has been for years. Not only has he made it a priority to learn about and invest in AI himself, but he has consistently recommended other entrepreneurs do the same. And if the ABC's "Shark Tank" star had to start a side hustle business today, that's where Cuban would turn. "I would become an expert in scripting for Alexa and Google Home and Cortana and go to any place that sold devices they supported and show them how much more they could do with a few hours of personalization," he tells CNBC Make It. By "scripting," Cuban is referring to the process of coding voice commands to create so-called "skills," which enable devices – like Amazon's Echo or Echo Dot, which use artificial intelligence-enabled voice assistant Alexa, Google Home or Microsoft's Cortana – to complete a task.

Slate is making its coronavirus coverage free for all readers. Subscribe to support our journalism. I've been single for about two and a half years. Not unhappily so, but I keep a busy schedule that allows me time to go out and meet new people or to go on dates, but rarely both. Despite that, I've been able to maintain a rather pleasing love life, thanks in great part to the apps. Obviously, I haven't yet settled down with Mr. Right Enough just yet, but I've connected with great friends, met remarkable lovers, and explored both fleeting and long-term romance on my own terms.