China's Alibaba Group Holding launched on Wednesday a cut-price voice assistant speaker, similar to Amazon.com The'Tmall Genie', named after the company's e-commerce platform Tmall, costs 499 yuan ($73.42), These devices are activated by voice commands to perform tasks, such as checking calendars, searching for weather reports, changing music or control smart-home devices, using internet connectivity and artificial intelligence. The Tmall Genie is currently programmed to use Mandarin as its language and will only be available in China. It is activated when a recognised user says'Tmall Genie' in Chinese.

It's good news for people who find work a drag, as Alibaba founder Jack Ma believes we will work just four hours a day for four days a week by 2047. The Chinese billionaire said he believed people would reap the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) and be free to spend more time travelling and less time working. But the 52-year-old founder of Alibaba - China's equivalent of eBay - also warned'there's going to be trouble' with AI in the future unless governments move fast. The Chinese billionaire said he believed people would reap the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) and be free to spend more time travelling and less time working. The 52-year-old Alibaba founder - China's equivalent of eBay - warned'there's going to be trouble' with AI in the future unless governments move fast.