Voice-controlled personal and home assistants (such as the Amazon Echo and Apple Siri) are becoming increasingly popular for a variety of applications. However, the benefits of these technologies are not readily accessible to Deaf or Hard-ofHearing (DHH) users. The objective of this study is to develop and evaluate a sign recognition system using multiple modalities that can be used by DHH signers to interact with voice-controlled devices. With the advancement of depth sensors, skeletal data is used for applications like video analysis and activity recognition. Despite having similarity with the well-studied human activity recognition, the use of 3D skeleton data in sign language recognition is rare. This is because unlike activity recognition, sign language is mostly dependent on hand shape pattern. In this work, we investigate the feasibility of using skeletal and RGB video data for sign language recognition using a combination of different deep learning architectures. We validate our results on a large-scale American Sign Language (ASL) dataset of 12 users and 13107 samples across 51 signs. It is named as GMUASL51. We collected the dataset over 6 months and it will be publicly released in the hope of spurring further machine learning research towards providing improved accessibility for digital assistants.

Automation is affecting every aspect of modern living and TV is no different. Jonathan Easton examines the role that AI is playing in the user experience and how'the algorithm' has quietly revolutionised the way we view content. Every few years, a new fad takes the industry by storm. In the early part of this decade it was 3D, and after that it was virtual reality, augmented reality and everything in between. But artificial intelligence (AI) is no such fad.

Recently, a study indicated UK workers fearing artificial intelligence to eliminate their jobs. Is AI going to steal away our jobs or is it all a hype? We're undergoing a technology revolution experiencing breathless stories about how artificial intelligence is going to replace our jobs. Are these signs of artificial intelligence apocalypse? Is there anything at all that reveals the AI phenomenon or is it just an image of a boogeyman trying to scare us into line?

It's becoming possible to think of robots through the male and female lenses we view humans. Naturally, with the presence of voice-based AI, it's only inevitable that we begin categorizing AI in these lenses, to facilitate the usage of pronouns in reference to them and bond them even further with humanity. Siri and other forms of smartphone assistants can be altered to speak in either a male or female's voice, depending on the preferences of the user. To make the alteration more realistic, their dialogue will also change depending on the voice used, almost monumentally. And unfortunately, this only leads to gender bias in the forms of arbitrary treatment towards progressing sexist stereotypes.

It's becoming possible to think of robots through the male and female lenses we view humans. Naturally, with the presence of voice-based AI, it's only inevitable that we begin categorizing AI in these lenses, to facilitate the usage of pronouns in reference to them and bond them even further with humanity. Siri and other forms of smartphone assistants can be altered to speak in either a male or female's voice, depending on the preferences of the user. To make the alteration more realistic, their dialogue will also change depending on the voice used, almost monumentally. And unfortunately, this only leads to gender bias in the forms of arbitrary treatment towards progressing sexist stereotypes.

As digital trends evolve every year, marketers should always be aware of the changes in order to easily adapt with emerging technologies and stay ahead in the market. This will help them gain a competitive edge and become able to develop new ways to grow their businesses, generate leads and improve the relationship with their existing customers. Based on the digital marketing trends article that we developed last year, 2018 has been the year of rising augmented reality, video content, voice search and influencer marketing... And now that 2019 is around the corner, you may ask yourself "what will the next year have for me?" To help you determine where the trajectory is heading over in 2019, we've listed out 10 digital marketing trends that you can take advantage of to improve your marketing strategy and meet a desired outcome. Voice search is undoubtedly rising in popularity.

With the holiday season fast approaching, you may be thinking about throwing an end-of-the-year get together for your family and friends. But, planning a party can be a time-consuming process that requires lots of prep, like choosing a date, time, and location; setting a theme; developing a guest list; creating a food and drink menu; picking out decorations--the list goes on and on. Need some help organizing your next soiree? There's no need to bust your budget by hiring an event planner. Instead, you can use Alexa to help you prep.

YouTube and its parent company Google have been hit with a $170 million fine for violating a children's privacy law. Google came under fire after media reports revealed that its contractors listened to customer audio recordings captured by the company's virtual assistant this year. Now, Google wants to be more transparent with you about "how your data is used and why." The search giant released a blog post on Monday promising to do more to protect your privacy when using its Voice assistant, saying, "It's clear that we fell short of our high standards." The Google Assistant is available on Google Home speaker along with Android and iOS smartphones.

Alexa has had a lot of explaining to do. Since Amazon's voice assistant debuted in 2014, the company has convinced millions of people to invite Alexa into their homes. They use it to play music, serve up the news and answer trivia questions. This year, though, the online retailing giant faced a backlash after news broke that human reviewers were sometimes listening to recordings of users' private conversations with Alexa. Those privacy problems will likely cast a shadow on Amazon's annual product launch, which takes place Wednesday in Seattle. There, the company is expected to unveil the latest devices in its Alexa-powered Echo speaker lineup.

Long an obsession of science fiction writers, "artificial intelligence" in the modern era of fast-paced technological innovation is a term that is as ubiquitous as it is nebulous. For the payments technology industry, however, the term describes advanced analytical technology that has an outsized potential to improve the payments ecosystem for banks, payments processors, merchants and consumers. In fact, financial services companies will spend US$11 billion on AI in 2020, according to an analysis by IDC -- more than any other industry cited. They'll stand to make a nice return on their investment as well, according to PwC estimates. In North America alone, AI is projected to increase the GDP of the financial and professional services industry as much as 10 percent by 2030, driven by increases in both productivity and consumption.