Spoken dialogue systems have transformed human-machine interaction by providing real-time responses to queries. However, misunderstandings between the user and system persist. This study explores the significance of interactional language in dialogue repair between virtual assistants and users by analyzing interactions with Google Assistant and Siri, focusing on their utilization and response to the other-initiated repair strategy "huh?" prevalent in human-human interaction. Findings reveal several assistant-generated strategies but an inability to replicate human-like repair strategies such as "huh?". English and Spanish user acceptability surveys show differences in users' repair strategy preferences and assistant usage, with both similarities and disparities among the two surveyed languages. These results shed light on inequalities between interactional language in human-human interaction and human-machine interaction, underscoring the need for further research on the impact of interactional language in human-machine interaction in English and beyond.

Artificial intelligence (A.I.) will one day integrate into human lives. While some of us are worried this form of technology will take over many jobs, it's also being used to enhance currently existing technology. But for those of you that still don't understand the potential of what AI can do, here are some tools and games you can try on your web browser. Sometimes when you're playing the piano, you might wish that you could perform a duet with someone else, only to realize that the people around you are tone deaf and should never touch a musical instrument. The good news is there's a program called A.I. Duet that can listen to the notes you're playing and try to follow up with its own tunes. It works best when you're playing a real song and not just some random notes.

Smart thermostats do more than automate a fixed heating and cooling schedule. These app-enabled smart home devices make it possible to adjust your thermostat whether you're on the couch, at the grocery store or on vacation -- anywhere your smartphone is connected to a cellular or a Wi-Fi network. Many of these devices also work with Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri now too, giving you yet another way to adjust your thermostat settings without having to stand directly in front of it. Some smart thermostat systems also use smart features like a motion sensor to determine if you're home or away and automatically change the temperature -- both heating and cooling -- for you. Other systems rely on a geofencing radius -- once you get a certain distance from your home, they switch to away mode and then back to home mode when you return.

Sure, you could choose a smart speaker based on sound or price. The go-to gadget gift of the season is available from Amazon, Apple and Google with better acoustics, new touch screens and deep holiday discounts. Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant also want to adjust the thermostat, fill your picture frame or even microwave your popcorn. Each artificial intelligence assistant has its own ways of running a home. You're choosing which tribe is yours.

Using your voice to control things around your home is one of the cooler aspects of the future we live in. But, unless you have the right phone or smart speaker, that functionality can be crippled or nonexistent. Platform-agnostic devices for smart homes are all too rare, which is why iDevices' dimmer switch is so intriguing. The company's hardware works with Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri right out of the box. No, I never thought I'd say a dimmer switch would be interesting either, but here we are.

The Galaxy S8 is shipping all over the world, people are raving about it, and it's breaking all sorts of sales records. Samsung's AI assistant Bixby wasn't quite ready to launch when the Galaxy S8 did, so Samsung held back its biggest feature, voice commands, with a vague promise that it will launch "later this spring." But we could be getting to know Bixby sooner than we think. Samsung has launched the voice component of Bixby in its home country of South Korea, a clear signal that the company is hard at work at perfecting its voice recognition engine. The plan has always been for Korean language support to launch first followed by English.