Microsoft envisions a future where Cortana and a legion of smart bots act as our butlers

If Microsoft's Satya Nadella has his way, there will be no Singularity in the future--where humanity uploads its consciousness into a mass, computer-backed intelligence--nor a murderous scene straight from the Terminator. "Ultimately," Nadella said, "It's not going to be man versus machines. It's going to be man with machines." Nadella made the grand pronouncement during Wednesday's introduction of Microsoft's new "Conversations as a Platform" philosophy--basically, the idea that the mixture of machine learning and natural language will alter the way computing behaves going forward, as we interact with personal digital assistants and legions of bots to help us organize our lives. Ordering food should be as simple as sending a text message; having Cortana juggle your appointments and suggest changes should be accomplished with a simple verbal conversation using natural language.