Fortunately, an artificial intelligence-driven system in your vehicle is looking after you. The system automatically checks on your flight--still on schedule--and determines your chances of making it to the gate on time are slim. With your permission, it can proactively book an alternate flight. "That's the true virtual assistant in the future," says Gartner vice president and fellow David Cearley. "Rather than having conversational interfaces respond to discrete things, it understands the context and can respond to (your) intent."

Science fiction tells us one day we'll talk to our phones and computers like they're people, as suggested in movies like Her and 2001: A Space Odyssey. But we're now facing a different reality: Our digital lives aren't managed by one entity, but rather a collection of AIs that gather information about how we type, what kind of media we like to see, and what we should be doing throughout the day. Right now, a lot of these algorithms require too much computing power to run on phones and other smart devices--that's part of the reason why the cloud has been so revolutionary. But a coming wave of advances in AI research and deployment will bring algorithms that require far less compute power, meaning we can carry them around on our smartphones, smartwatches, and smart belts, without sending personal information like texts back to the servers of Facebook and Google. This technology could allow a fresh start for privacy within messaging apps, especially now that users are beginning to understand the importance of end-to-end encryption on their personal messages.

In the Marvel universe, billionaire Tony Stark/Iron Man has Jarvis, a personal AI to anticipate his needs and streamline his life. When I mention this to Collie Brown, founder and CEO of Arghon, a personal AI company, he gives a knowing smile. A moment before he described his AI product as a "life assistant." "There's the Watsons of the world, geared towards large scale data and the like," Brown said. "Arghon's about you, what's happening in your life from the time you wake up to the time you go to bed. Our goal is to manage what happens in between that."