Artificial intelligence gets tons of press – and for good reason. But AI's fast-rising expertise lies not just within the matrix of its own nifty algorithms, but also in its wider connections. It's about "intelligent connectivity" that relies on raw data – lots and lots of it – and on the communication networks that carry it. This blend of technologies may be surrounding you at a large store like Walmart. Retailers fight for their target audience using sensors galore, stationed in their aisles and checkout lines.

For over a decade we have witnessed a proliferation of internet-connected devices. Nowadays, the number of internet-connected devices is estimated to be around 25 billion. Most of these are mainstream consumer devices that enable human communications and facilitate human-machine interactions. There is also a growing number of devices that are deployed in industrial environments to enable the collection of digital data about operational performance such as efficiency and quality. By analyzing this data, industrial enterprises derive insights on how to automate and optimize their business processes. In this direction, devices, and smart objects with actuation capabilities such as robots, drones, smart sensors, and automated guided vehicles can be used to reduce human errors, increase automation, and improve the quality and reduce the cost of industrial operations.

I wake up in the middle of the night. "Hey, Google, what's the temperature in Zone 2," I say into the darkness. A disembodied voice responds: "The temperature in Zone 2 is 52 degrees." "Set the heat to 68," I say, and then I ask the gods of artificial intelligence to turn on the light. Many of us already live with A.I., an array of unseen algorithms that control our Internet-connected devices, from smartphones to security cameras and cars that heat the seats before you've even stepped out of the house on a frigid morning.

By Craig S. Smith I wake up in the middle of the night. "Hey, Google, what's the temperature in Zone 2," I say into the darkness. A disembodied voice responds: "The temperature in Zone 2 is 52 degrees." "Set the heat to 68," I say, and then I ask the gods of artificial intelligence to turn on the light. Many of us already live with AI, an array of unseen algorithms that control our Internet-connected devices, from smartphones to security cameras and cars that heat the seats before you've even stepped out of the house on a frigid morning.

The Trifo Ironpie has a built-in camera. Security researchers revealed Wedneday that vulnerabilities in the device could let hackers access the video stream remotely, among other things. The Trifo Ironpie robot vacuum is designed to do double duty. The fans on the swiveling disc hoover your house, while the camera mounted on it acts as an ankle-high securitydevice. The idea is to stay tidy while staying safe.

Voice assistants made popular by Amazon and Google are seemingly everywhere in the home - from internet-connected refrigerators, to toilets and lightbulbs. They bring with them the benefit of convenience as a growing number of users can now complete everyday tasks, like locking their door or turning on the light, with just their voice. But the always-on nature of internet-connected devices has raised some concerns over just how much data these applications are collecting and what they're doing with it, according to Bloomberg. A woman is seen controlling her Philips Hue smart lightbulb with her voice assistant. Concerns have grown around how much data these applications are collecting and how it's being used In the past, if users asked Alexa to turn on their smart bulb, Alexa would transmit code to the device to check if it was on or off, receive confirmation that it was off and then tell it to turn on, Bloomberg noted.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society. On March 6, 2016, a small drone belonging to the open-source software company Drone Employee lifted into the Russian sky, traveling across an open field of white snow. Drone flight is relatively unremarkable today, but this particular drone wasn't controlled by anyone. Brought to life by a predetermined agreement, or "smart contract," running on the Ethereum blockchain, the drone's engines powered on and it lifted itself into the air, taking a flight path dictated--only and exclusively--by code. The smart contract controlled the drone's trajectory, without the need for a middleman with a remote to manage the device.

It's the year 2075 and the newest generation doesn't remember life before AI. Even more frightening, they don't know the meaning of personal privacy – at least not in the way their grandparents remember it. Someone is always watching you, whether it be the government, your employer, insurance companies, the bad date you had last week, or some random hacker. Personalized surveillance is just a fact of life now. Nothing lives or dies without being monitored.

Google's voice-activated assistant is branching out to Nest's deluxe security camera in an expansion that may amplify the privacy concerns surrounding internet-connected microphones. The virtual assistant is being offered to owners of the Nest Cam IQ in a free update rolling out Wednesday. The move comes just two weeks after Nest moved back under Google's direct control after spending nearly 2 1/2 years as a separate company owned by the same parent, Alphabet Inc. The $300 Nest Cam will give Google another potentially valuable earhole in its battle with Amazon and Apple to build digital command centers in people's home. That ambition has already spurred warnings from privacy watchdogs about the potential for internet-connected devices being used as surveillance tools.

A USA TODAY motion graphic explaining the steps hackers use to take down servers. A graphic representation of the dangers posed by botnets, stealth robotic computer networks that place malicious hardware on the computers of unsuspecting users. SAN FRANCISCO -- A New Jersey man has pleaded guilty to computer crimes charges for an online attack that caused a massive Internet outage last year, according to federal court documents unsealed Tuesday. The Justice Department says Paras Jha built the Mirai botnet, which operated hundreds of thousands of infected household devices to flood websites with traffic, knocking out services such as Netflix and PayPal. The plea agreement was filed Dec. 5 in federal court in Alaska.