Artificial intelligence (AI) is here. The technology is already making an impact across many industries. According to IDC, worldwide spending on AI systems is forecast to reach $35.8 billion in 2019 -- a 44% increase over 2018. For any company that hasn't started its AI journey -- it's time to get started. That's because AI is shaking up the customer experience, bringing users and brands closer together than ever before.

Google today announced a handful of new consumer privacy tools for some of its most-used products, including Google Maps, YouTube and Google Assistant. The tools are meant to better allow users to control, manage and erase the data Google collects from those who use its services or prevent Google from collecting that data in the first place, in some cases. In Google Maps, there's now an incognito mode option that works similar to the one available in the Chrome browser and, more recently, YouTube . The idea is that there are times when you don't want Google to track your usage of Maps, including when you search for particular places or travel about town. There are a number of reasons why you might want to opt-out of being tracked in Maps -- maybe you don't want to taint your personalized recommendations with irrelevant data.

Hollywood has primed most of us to instinctively think of artificial intelligence in terms of robots taking over entire industries -- if not the world. In reality, of course, versions of AI have increasingly percolated into more mundane uses. Most chatbots today are AI-powered, for instance. AI and You, OZY's latest original series, gives you a peek into how the technology could soon transform everything from your relationships to your meals. You arrive at the drive-through restaurant to be greeted by an AI-powered voice-ordering assistant and a personalized menu that's different for you and your friends.

Nowadays artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are impacting our daily lives in many different ways. They help businesses make decisions and optimize operations for some of the world's leading companies. As a result, there will be a huge change in jobs and employment in the future. These are practical examples of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. Based on the operation of natural language, machine learning and advanced analytics, Hello Barbie can listen and answer a child.

From self-driving vehicles and autonomous drones, to virtual doctors and automated personal assistants, AI is expected to fundamentally disrupt the way that people live, work and interact with each other. AI is increasingly the key to significant innovations across almost all segments of society, manifesting itself in vastly different applications. There are vast opportunities for businesses operating in industries where AI has become more prevalent. However, with these opportunities come significant challenges. Ashurst's series of articles on AI will consider these issues from an IP perspective.

Are you worried that artificial intelligence (AI) technology is coming for your job? Do you work in tech and wonder why people fear AI? Have robots already taken over menial tasks in your workplace? The Seattle Times is examining the social, economic and ethical implications of artificial intelligence in a series of stories exploring the pros and cons of the technology and its impact on work. If you have questions about AI, you could ask Siri and Alexa, or you could ask us. Use the form below to share questions about the effects of artificial intelligence on your job.

Ask Google or Siri: "What is Taiwan?" "A state", they will answer, "in East Asia". But earlier in September, it would have been a "province in the People's Republic of China". And Wikipedia had suddenly changed. The edit was reversed, but soon made again. It became an editorial tug of war that - as far as the encyclopedia was concerned - caused the state of Taiwan to constantly blink in and out of existence over the course of a single day.

Accenture Chief Technology and Innovation Officer Paul Daugherty on how artificial intelligence will impact the workforce in America in the future. Artificial intelligence is devouring the restaurant industry. Delivery sales are projected to grow at more than three times the rate of revenue from customers dining in at restaurants, according to a report from L.E.K. consulting. And more than half of customers are ordering food directly from a restaurant's app or website, according to the same report. Here's how the restaurant industry is leveraging artificial intelligence to boost sales and reach more customers.

The machines haven't taken over. However, they are seeping their way into our lives, affecting how we live, work and entertain ourselves. From voice-powered personal assistants like Siri and Alexa, to more underlying and fundamental technologies such as behavioral algorithms, suggestive searches and autonomously-powered self-driving vehicles boasting powerful predictive capabilities, there are several examples and applications of artificial intellgience in use today. However, the technology is still in its infancy. What many companies are calling A.I. today, aren't necessarily so.

Have you ever noticed that, after 6 p.m. on weekdays, you tend to listen to harmony-laden, lo-fi, guitar-based songs with medium-to-fast-paced rhythms and a strong backbeat -- but you'll skip ones that are too distorted? As opposed to weekend mornings, when you follow up a local news podcast with slower piano tracks sung by a solo female vocalist, with strings and horns, angular melodies, multiple sections (but no solos) and a touch of melancholy throughout? Chances are, you've never thought about your listening choices in such a detailed way. But Pandora's musicologists and scientists have, and that's how -- with the help of artificial intelligence, machine learning and the analysis of the listening habits of its more than 65 million monthly users -- it knows which song you'll want to hear next. "We treat every individual very specially, and focus on contextual recommendations to understand what you like, what you listen to," says Oscar Celma, Pandora's vice president of data science, of how the company maps the DNA of every piece of audio in Pandora's millions-wide song library and compares that with explicit and implicit user preference feedback to yield bespoke programming.