An inside Look at Microsoft's Cortana

DAN TYNAN: Artificial intelligence. Thanks to Hollywood, we know exactly what it will look like. AI will exist to make your life easier. It will handle your schedule, manage your communications, and prepare your Iron Man suit. It will clean up after you. You will probably fall in love with it. And then, it will kill you. In real life though, AI is, well, a little different. Less sophisticated, less evil. Even a little boring. Meet Cortana. Sorry, not that Cortana. This Cortana is a digital personal assistant. She's Microsoft's answer to Apple's Siri, Google Now, and Amazon's Alexa. She's part of Windows 10, which will be released to the world at the end of July. And if Microsoft has its way, she'll be on a billion machines within a year or two. What can this Cortana do? She can understand what you're saying and answer your questions. Hey, Cortana. How are you? CORTANA: Great, thank. DAN TYNAN: She can make appointments for you. Make a dentist appointment for me next Tuesday at 4:00 PM. CORTANA: Sure thing. I can add dentist appointment to your calendar for Tuesday, July 28 at 4:00 PM. DAN TYNAN: She can tell you who won the game last night and if you need to bring an umbrella to work. Hey Cortana, is it going to rain tomorrow? CORTANA: There's a chance it will. DAN TYNAN: But most important, Cortana has a personality. She can sing songs. CORTANA: Here's one I know. [SINGING] DAN TYNAN: She can tell jokes. CORTANA: Why do seagulls fly over the sea? Because if they flew over the bay, they'd be bagels. DAN TYNAN: Don't quit your day job, Cortana. Or she can act like a goof ball. Hey Cortana, do you like dogs? CORTANA: I like good dogs. Who's a good dog? Who's a good doggie? That's a good little fuzzy face. DAN TYNAN: In this way, she's not that much different than Siri or Alexa, but she's got a real woman's voice. Cortana is played by Jen Taylor, the same actress who plays the other Cortana in Halo, AKA the naked blue lady. That's important, because Microsoft wants you to trust her, because she's going to know a lot about you. She'll know the foods you eat, the things you like to do, the places you like to go. And each day as she learns more about you, Cortana will seem just a little bit more human. Eventually you'll find yourself saying things like, please Cortana. And thank you, Cortana. And I'm sorry, Cortana, that was rude. You will develop a relationship of sorts with this machine. Who knows, you might even fall in love. I love you. CORTANA: Awesome. Now I never have to say I'm sorry. DAN TYNAN: For more tech tips and tricks, visit yahootech.com.