Artificial Intelligence (AI) is smart, but it could do better. The software development industry is constantly working to push algorithmic logic beyond the scope of the current computer processing envelope and create new ways for computers to'think' and emulate human beings. We have of course progressed significantly onward from the fanciful notions of AI that were characterized in the Sci-Fi movies of the 1980s. Largely as result of access to massively more powerful processors and massively larger (and eminently accessible) datasets -- and as a result of cloud computing and modern approaches to database management, we can now create an impressive amount of smartness in the AI that we now develop. But AI needs to get smarter.

For that reason, Square is now letting business owners automate the rescheduling process with a chatbot called Square Assistant. Business owners that are using Square's existing Appointments service can now confirm appointments with customers--or let them cancel or reschedule them--via text message, without any human involvement. It's the first product to come from Square's acquisition of conversational AI startup Eloquent Labs earlier this year. "For some of our customers, SMS is just a more efficient way to interact," says Ellen Blaine, a former Eloquent Labs engineer who is now a product manager at Square. "With Square Assistant, you can reschedule or confirm an appointment just by texting a couple of words."

Will the intelligent algorithms of the future look like general-purpose robots, as adept at idle banter and reading maps as they are handy in the kitchen? Or will our digital assistants look more like a grab-bag of specialised gadgets – less a single chatty masterchef than a kitchen full of appliances? If an algorithm tries to do too much, it gets in trouble. The recipe below was generated by an artificial neural network, a type of artificial intelligence (AI) that learns by example. This particular algorithm scrutinised about 30,000 cookbook recipes of all sorts, from soups to pies to barbecues, and then tried to come up with its own. Combine unleaves, and stir until the mixture is thick.

Will Roper, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics, is something like Q for the Defense Department. He formerly ran the Strategic Capabilities Office, a secretive military skunkworks designed to figure out how to fight future wars. While there, he helped design swarms of tiny unmanned drones; he helped create Project Maven; and he tried to partner the Defense Department with the videogame industry. Now his new job may be even harder: Making the Air Force acquisitions process efficient. He's going to be leading a pitch day for the Air Force this week in New York City, and he spoke with WIRED about that and also where he sees the future of military technology going--from AI to hypersonic weapons to space. Nicholas Thompson: You're launching a new system very soon to help get startups very quickly signed up to Air Force contracts. Tell me how it works and why you are doing it. Will Roper: We've got to be able to work with the entire industry base, and even our fastest agreements still take a couple of months to get nailed down. That's too long for a startup that needs cash flow quickly. And so we really worked hard to hack our system and we've gotten down to where we can do credit-card-based awards on a single day.

At the start of the 20th Century, the majority of Americans were farmers, today that number is less than 2%.We've created new jobs. Most jobs that exist today didn't exist 100 years ago. In fact, in 1910 service jobs and agriculture together accounted for 70% of the US labor market. Today, service jobs account for almost 80% of jobs with industry making up the remaining 20%. In the past 10 years alone, we've seen the advent of new jobs which are now widespread, including app developer, social media manager, cloud computing specialist, data scientist, sustainability manager and YouTube content creator, amongst a plethora of other roles.