AI can guide us -- or just entertain

"Have you heard the rumor about butter? Go ahead and roll your eyes. This groaner is just one of the many, many terrible jokes that Amazon's "personal assistant" software, Alexa, will tell you -- if you ask. But Alexa can do a lot more than make bad puns. Many people start their mornings by asking Alexa for the weather forecast or the latest news. A device that houses the software can also play music from your favorite playlists, keep a shopping list, order takeout food, answer trivia questions, send voice messages and even run "smart" home controls like thermostats. Alexa is a form of artificial intelligence, or AI for short.