The consumer electronics show is gearing up to begin on Thursday, but product announcements are already rolling in. Including a number of smart assistants for the home, similar to Amazon's Echo. Lenovo and Mattel, yes the toy maker, proved that the category is about to take off showing off their own smart assistants at this year's show.

Mark Zuckerberg's yearly challenge to himself for 2017 is something more than simply creating a home AI system. Like a politician, Mark plans to visit all 50 states throughout the year to talk with people about how they live their lives, and how those lives have been affected by technology.

Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance in Japan is about to put IBM's Watson Explorer AI to work as an insurance claim worker, replacing 34 human employees in the process. The move is expected to increase productivity by 30%, saving the company around $1.1 million per year.

A new report by TrendForce says that mobile payments are about to encounter significant growth in 2017. $585 billion was spent using mobile payment services last year, and the report shows that the market should see a jump of around 25% throughout 2017.

Hosts: Jason Howell and Ron Richards

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