Cortana wants to be your personal executive assistant and read your emails to you, too

Only a few years ago, Microsoft hoped that Cortana could become a viable competitor to the Google Assistant, Alexa and Siri . Over time, as Cortana failed to make a dent in the marketplace (do you ever remember that Cortana is built into your Windows 10 machine?), the company’s ambitions shrunk a bit. Today, Microsoft […] Continue reading Cortana wants to be your personal executive assistant and read your emails to you, too

Hackers Can Silently Control Siri, Alexa & Other Voice Assistants Using Ultrasound

What if your smartphone starts making calls, sending text messages, and browsing malicious websites on the Internet itself without even asking you?

This is no imaginations, as hackers can make this possible using your smartphone’s personal assistant l… Continue reading Hackers Can Silently Control Siri, Alexa & Other Voice Assistants Using Ultrasound

Microsoft Maluuba is teaching machines to ask questions

 It’s no secret that today’s conversational assistants leave a lot to be desired. We spend a lot of time talking about how bad they are at hearing what we say and even worse at interpreting it. But one thing that doesn’t get nearly enough attention is the one-directional nature of conversations we have with Siri, Cortana and the rest. These systems don’t know how to… Read More Continue reading Microsoft Maluuba is teaching machines to ask questions

Dissection: A Closer Look At Cortana Usage, Growth And Competitors (Premium)

Microsoft has released new usage figures for Cortana and while the numbers are large, they don’t tell the entire story about how it is used or how Siri/Google New measure up.
The post Dissection: A Closer Look At Cortana Usage, Growth And Competitors (… Continue reading Dissection: A Closer Look At Cortana Usage, Growth And Competitors (Premium)

Rigged YouTube videos can use Siri and Google Now to hijack your phone

Researchers have demonstrated that “hidden” voice commands can trick voice-activated assistants into doing things like downloading malware. Continue reading Rigged YouTube videos can use Siri and Google Now to hijack your phone

Google I/O 2016: Google Finally Comes Home

On Wednesday, Google broadcast the day one keynote for its 10th annual I/O conference, with most of the announcements pertaining to products and services that won’t ship for many months. The biggest was for a product called Google Home, which brings it… Continue reading Google I/O 2016: Google Finally Comes Home