​It’s not uncommon for a person to leave their house without their loyalty cards. It is also not unheard of for person to leave home without their phone. But no one has yet to leave their home without their face.

Alibaba has a vision for the future of retail where there is no distinction between online and offline shopping, and the customer experience is enhanced by augmented reality, artificial intelligence (AI) and facial recognition.

​Facial recognition promises to deliver a new era of personalised service at retailers and services providers – if only consumers could get past their fear of Big Brother.

Facial emotion recognition and artificial intelligence tools that can predict whether content will be well-received in a new market are just some of the ways BBC World is supplementing its creative output with technology.

You’ve pulled up outside a property from your preferred hotel chain, ready to check in for the night. You’re a stranger in a new city, but the concierge greets you personally and by name. Before you know it, you’re handed your keys and are heading to the elevator. Check in is complete. It’s a scenario that’s not so far from reality thanks to advances in technology for facial recognition in crowded situations.

Sydney's creative light festival Vivid Sydney is set to engage with participants on a whole new interactive level with Intel's new 3D facial recognition technology.

Mark Zuckerberg expects artificial intelligence will progress to make computers better than humans at basic sensory perception within the next 10 years and Facebook will end up knowing a lot more about you.

Apple has reportedly acquired artificial-intelligence startup Emotient, giving it access to technology that could one day imbue its devices with the ability to "read" people's emotions through their facial expressions.