- What suggests technology will be a step ahead of many formal medical diagnoses in the near future?
Hint:
Answer: online health symptom searches on Bing have led a group of Microsoft scientists to claim that pancreatic cancer detection is possible in 5-15% of cases prior to actually receiving a formal diagnosis by a physician. The research raises whether online health alerts will eventually become available for all kinds of conditions when user search data raises a red flag. Read more here.
2. How are some people winning step-tracker challenges?
Hint:
Answer: folks who take step-challenges in the workplace or elsewhere, sometimes, whether out of panic or a desire to win, come up with interesting “assistants.” From power machines, to dogs and clothes-driers, some devices are running circles around others. Their owners, however, are often caught – for how can an individual possibly walk 30 miles a day with a full-time desk job? What such participants should get a medal for, if not steps taken, is creativity. Read the details here.
3. How will virtual assistants’ effectiveness and efficiency likely improve in months to come?
Hint:
Answer: detecting user emotional states, user voice mimicking, recalling prior requests, having contextual understanding — these are all the things companies designing and developing personal virtual assistants like Amazon’s Alexa are working on so that user and assistant are in better sync. Read the story here.