For the second year running, Google's massive I/O developer event will take place at the storied Shoreline Amphitheater, right around the corner from the company's Mountain View headquarters. Last year's conference had a host of major announcements worthy of such a high-profile venue -- it's where Google Home, the Google Assistant and the Daydream VR headset were all introduced. But this year, things seem like they'll be a little quieter, at least in terms of big consumer-facing hardware. It'll probably be a year of refinement, where big initiatives continue to be polished. We'll be there all three days this year, bringing you breaking news, analysis, interviews, videos and more.

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.

Google has finally launched Android Wear 2.0 after being delayed multiple times after it was first revealed last year. The updated smartwatch operating system brings in some improvements to its existing software, while also adding some nifty new features. Probably the most sought after new feature on Android Wear 2.0 is that it brings the Google Play Store right into smartwatches. This allows users to browse, download and install apps right on their device without it being connected to a smartphone. The apps are of course simplified versions of their smartphone counterparts, but it does make the smartwatch experience feel more untethered.