Google's fans, investors and developers alike will be watching the Mountain View, Calif. While I/O is primarily aimed at programmers, Google usually takes the opportunity to make big announcements about its major products and projects. This is also the first I/O since former product chief Sundar Pichai was made the company's CEO in a major restructuring last year. Here's a look at some of the news we're expecting to see when Google kicks off the conference on May 18. The highlight of the event will be Wednesday's keynote, set for 10 a.m.

Difficult as it may be to remember now, there was a time when planning a vacation meant calling a travel agent. These professionals served as an intermediary between travelers and hotels, airlines and so on, taking vague notions ("We'd like to do two weeks across Europe") and turning them into itineraries. But over the past 15 years or so, do-it-yourself websites like Orbitz and Airbnb have empowered vacationers to pick their own accommodations, making travel agents increasingly unnecessary. The U.S. Department of Labor warns that the employment of travel agents is set to drop 12% by 2024, thanks largely to "the ability of travelers to use the Internet to research vacations and book their own trip." Those DIY sites have given rise to a new problem: too much choice.

In a rare move, Apple has invested 1 billion in popular Chinese ride sharing service Didi Chuxing. The investment gives Apple an opportunity to learn more about its second-largest market, CEO Tim Cook said. "We are making the investment for a number of strategic reasons, including a chance to learn more about certain segments of the China market," Cook said in an interview with Reuters. "Of course, we believe it will deliver a strong return for our invested capital over time as well." The move also comes after billionaire investor Carl Icahn sold his position in Apple, largely due to the company's lagging performance in the region.

Google is said to be developing a product that would compete with Amazon's Echo voice assistant, according to Recode. The gadget would look similar to Google's OnHub wireless router, and would include Google's search and voice recognition technology. Google likely won't introduce the device at its developer conference next week, during which it usually makes significant product announcements, says Recode. But the firm is aiming to launch the Echo-like product this year. Google employees are calling the project "Chirp" internally.

The debate over artificial intelligence has divided some of Silicon Valley's brightest minds. Companies like Google, Microsoft and Amazon are embracing AI, integrating it into their core products. Larry Page, CEO of Google parent company Alphabet, argued in 2014 that AI could bring economic benefits. "When we have computers that can do more and more jobs, it's going to change how we think about work," Page told The Financial Times. Other major industry figures warn that artificial intelligence could spin out of control.

In a development that's likely to make you feel older than MySpace, what may be one of the watershed moments early in the era of the viral Internet has just passed it's 10-year anniversary, and the Twitterverse has been having fun remembering. It's now more than a decade since Congolese job hopeful Guy Goma found himself offering his not-so-expert analysis of a legal dispute between Apple Computer (now Apple Inc.) and Apple Corp, The Beatles' record label, over trademark rights. Goma, after arriving at the BBC's West London headquarters for an interview for a job in the IT department on May 8, 2006, was mistaken for a studio guest, British technology journalist Guy Kewney, and ushered all the way into a live BBC News 24 studio. Looking baffled and nervously eying the cameras, the wrong Guy proceeded to have a go at answering presenter Karen Bowerman's questions about the future of downloading. Ten years on, his answers seem actually quite prescient.

Disney on Tuesday confirmed that it is discontinuing production of Disney Infinity, the company's venture that merged the toy and gaming world by allowing users to buy figurines of their favorite characters that virtually came to life. The cancellation was a "difficult decision" to make, John Blackburn, who created the Disney Infinity concept, said in a statement. The series was introduced in 2013. "From the beginning, Disney Infinity was built for you--our fans--and I wanted to take a moment to thank you not just for your support over the years, but for creating a community that made Disney Infinity more than just a game," he said. "Our goal for Disney Infinity was to bring the best of Disney storytelling to life in homes around the world, and with your support we accomplished that," he added.

For Dag Kittlaus, creating Siri was just the beginning. The technology entrepreneur who developed the famous voice assistant before selling it to Apple in 2010 showcased his new intelligent assistant, called Viv, at TechCrunch Disrupt on Monday. Based on Kittlaus' demo, Viv is capable of answering complex questions, an area where some virtual assistants have struggled thus far. The idea behind Viv is to make it as simple as possible to accomplish tasks through speech. Rather than just fetching recent weather forecasts, for example, Viv is said to serve up data pertaining to specific times and conditions.

Come for the Jolly Green Giant-sized Mario, stay for the official Super Mario-themed world. Nintendo and Mojang just announced they're joining hands to bring the Kyoto publisher's famed plumbers, koopas, exploding POW Blocks and more to Minecraft: Wii U Edition on May 17. And the best part: the new content is completely free. It's called the "Super Mario Mash-Up Pack," and includes a pre-made world and music inspired by Super Mario series games like Super Mario World, Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine. Nintendo has also included 40 Super Mario-themed skins (plays as Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Bowser, Wario, the Koopalings and so forth), and completely retextured the game to resemble the iconic series.

A year after its launch, the self-described World Video Game Hall of Fame just added a bunch of sophomore inductees to its list of gaming's most illustrious. Those six would be: Grand Theft Auto III, The Legend of Zelda, The Oregon Trail, The Sims, Sonic the Hedgehog and Space Invaders. They join last year's preliminary half-dozen in The Strong museum of play in Rochester, New York: DOOM, Pong, Pac-Man, Super Mario Bros., Tetris and World of Warcraft. Of the 15 total finalists for this year's induction, the ones that didn't make it were: Elite, Final Fantasy, John Madden Football, Minecraft, Nürburgring, Pokémon Red and Green, Sid Meier's Civilization, Street Fighter II and Tomb Raider. And here's the part where you say something like "Why not Spacewar?