Yet another feature of Google Now was unveiled recently. It’s the “Let’s Go Caroling feature,” which I describe in the video below.

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The robots are getting good! In fact, the person you may be talking to on the other end of the phone might actually be a clever AI program. How clever?

The topic is robot trolling, or trying to determine whether the bright and cheerful person selling you whatever is real. The link (below) contains some audio clips that are quite telling, but also chilling in how real the interaction can be.

You’re seeing the dawn of this type of tool. It will get better. In fact, in a few years (or even months), you may not be able to determine whether the conversation you’re having is with a human being or clever software.

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In some of my books, as a joke, I write about Wi-Fi and cellular signals everywhere, “Don’t duck!” Despite my jocularity, the visual representation presented in this article is pretty stunning.

If we could see the wireless signals, and providing they didn’t look like rainbows, my guess is that environmental groups would protest. And it does make me wonder whether any long-term harmful effects to this radiation exist. Remember, when X-Rays first came out they were considered a harmless novelty. Time will tell.

The grades are in, and they both . . . could stand some improvement.

I really believe voice input is the future of mobile devices, almost to the point that the wrist device won’t see any success until it’s sports a completely audio interface. The two giants Apple and Google are marching in the right direction, but still have quite a ways to go.

Biggest question: Where the heck is Microsoft in all this?

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