Morgan Spurlock’s documentary series “Inside Man” returned to CNN on Thursday with an episode featuring the latest developments in robotics and artificial intelligence technology. In one segment, Spurlock traveled out to Microsoft Research in Redmond, Wash., to learn about AI systems that can understand and respond accurately to speech and physical context. Upon his arrival in the building, a smart elevator opened to take Spurlock to the right floor, and various virtual assistants pointed him to Eric Horvitz’s office for a demonstration of responsive technologies that use machine learning and natural interfaces to help people interact more easily — both with technology and with other humans — as well as be more productive.
Spurlock also visited Bay Area innovator Suitable Technologies, where he was so 
impressed by the Beam Smart Presence System that he bought a unit for his New York office. He also took a spin in Stanford University’s self-driving race car, “Shelley,” experiencing for himself the ways that smart sensors and control systems can take the work, and ideally the risk, out of drivers’ hands.
