Rather than conducting a question and reply using a device on the countertop, we will be able to converse naturally using our virtual assistant that's totally embedded in our physical surroundings. During our dialogue and digital breadcrumbs, it is going to know our own life objectives and ambitions, our obligations and limitations. It is going to seamlessly and help us to save and budget for different life events, so we are able to spend more time enjoying life's moments.

While we could imagine this future, the technology itself is not without challenges -- at least for now. The capability for artificial intelligence to comprehend the complexities and nuances of the human dialog is one hurdle. You will find more than 7,111 known living languages in the world these days, according to Ethnologue. Adding into the intricacies would be the varied ways words are shared and used across different civilizations, such as grammar and the level of education and kind of speakers. Google Duplex, the tech behind Google Assistant, which puts phone calls with a natural-sounding human voice rather than a robotic one, is an early effort to address such challenges in human communications. However, these are just initial whispers in voice AI's long trip.

Beyond creating bookings and running simple dialogues, virtual assistants need to become a lot more useful and further integrated into the fabric of our daily lives. Not only will they need to expect what we need before we ask, but they also should comprehend the context of our discussions and respond accordingly. Envision a snow day at which school is canceled for your youngsters. Knowing that you should now stay home with your kids, your phone could prompt you, asking in the event that you'd like your meetings moved to the following day; your amusement console will automatically indicate movies to watch and also e-books to read. On top of that, your smart speaker will recommend meal options for lunch while you are out shoveling snow. Alternately, imagine how much more pleasant your trip home from a business trip is if your phone could automatically arrange for a ride waiting to pick up you in the airport, based on your trip itinerary, location, and customs. The options are infinite. And interactive voice can initiate a conversation in a way fingers on glass can't.

Consider the example of banks. Free from the standard boundaries of communication, we can now re-imagine lifestyle in a world in which the idea of banking extends beyond its conventional frontiers, or simply, fades. Where physical boundaries after defined bank divisions, an array of modalities from cellular telephones and laptops to smart speakers and appliances that are connected will re-characterize the significance of cash -- for customers and institutions equally. Consumers now demand constant and seamless digital experiences, whether they're purchasing merchandise on the internet, downloading music, or moving money. Consumers now dictate what they desire, when they need it. If financial institutions want to leverage voice technology to further evolve the mobile experience and improve day-to-day financial activities, they need to take a playbook from the electronic ecosystem and also be careful not to just replicate the branch and mobile transactions with scripted verbal dialogues. After all, there's quite a bit more to virtual assistants than a simplified voice. What might occur if AI becomes contextually aware and empathetic? Imagine that one day that ambient technology knows us so well it can act as our private CFO and always help us reach the finest financial outcomes with time, according to its knowledge of our family, our lifestyle decisions, our health, and our wellbeing. Will we hope it enough to make decisions for us automatically? A large portion of that will be pushed by society's acceptance and perception of machines. In Japan, where the civilization is more welcoming to humanoids, robots are put in hospitals and nursing homes to keep seniors out of feeling lonely, and educational robots are also being used to help kids improve their English abilities. Some have even gone to the extreme to find love and companionship with robots, such as in the event of this holographic AI personality called Hikari Azuma produced by Japanese messaging giant, Line.

AI provides us with the opportunity to imagine not only the user experience but the value market. Through collating an abundance of information resources, AI has the capability to establish a true 360-degree perspective of the consumer's everyday life, dependent on his or her past habits and behaviors, well past the conventional data silos. The capacity to learn, process, and fortify creates a symbiotic relationship between people and machines. While movies such as "Her" and "Humans" paint a world that might appear unattainable right now, they allow us to flex our creative muscles to picture what is in store. And according to Amazon, that future may not be. In fact, with the help of both AI and machine learning, Amazon is working toward a future in which humans can conduct an organic back-and-forth conversation with intelligent speakers and other connected devices.

We have the power to design a universe where our collective perceptions to help create improved versions of humanity, where the goal becomes central to our innovations and drives our day-to-day activities. Perhaps what limits us isn't our technology, but our imagination to think beyond the current realm of possibilities, and our openness to put our confidence in machines.