LIVERPOOL v WATFORD

(Tonight, 10.15pm, Singtel TV Ch 102 & 
StarHub TV Ch 227)

Watford boss Walter Mazzarri is backing his goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes to win the battle of the Brazilians against Liverpool tonight.

Gomes will be tasked with keeping out fellow countrymen Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino, who have already struck eight goals between them this season.

The deadly duo have helped Liverpool win eight of their last nine matches and climb to third in the Premier League table, level on points with Arsenal and Manchester City before last night’s matches.

Mazzarri admitted that together, Coutinho and Firmino form one of the best attacks in the division.

“Yes, in my opinion, they are one of the best,” Mazzarri said.

“These are Brazilian problems, so we hope they cancel each other out and it means we will not concede a goal.

“Gomes is a great goalkeeper, so hopefully he will do his best on Sunday and we will see how it goes.

“If we look at their performances on the pitch, yes it answers the question by itself.

“Aside from just them, it’s the way Liverpool play, their performance, not only the forwards but also the whole team.”

Coutinho left Inter Milan in January 2013, just before Mazzarri took charge at the San Siro, but the Hornets head coach is well aware of the midfielder’s talent.

“Coutinho is a player I like and he has characteristics I admire a lot,” Mazzarri said.

GREAT STEP

“He left just before I got to Inter. When he was at Inter, he was very young. At Liverpool, he matured a lot, he made a great step, but it was the same concept as before.

“The forwards play well and better when they have the team behind them. So Coutinho probably found that better than at Inter.”

If Liverpool boast one of the Premier League’s most potent attacks, Watford have developed an impressive resilience at the back, having registered three consecutive clean sheets.

Michael Dawson’s own-goal meant the Hornets overcame Hull last weekend without managing a single shot on target, but Mazzarri insists his side possess more than just a strong defence.

“It’s about more than just defending well, it’s about Watford creating and how many chances we make,” Mazzarri said.

“It’s not because I’m an Italian coach, I’m Walter Mazzarri, it’s very important my team play on the attack and, at the same time, are ready to defend.

“Against Hull, we created seven or eight chances to score while Hull had only one.” – PA Sport.

6

Philippe Coutinho has had a hand in six goals in his last six EPL appearances for Liverpool (two goals, four assists).

MAN CITY 1

(Sergio Aguero 43)

MIDDLESBROUGH 1

(Marten de Roon 90+1)

It was always going to be a tall order to match the quality of their majestic European performance just five days ago.

But that wasn’t a requirement.

Against Middlesbrough yesterday, it was a test of Manchester City’s concentration.

The glamorous Champions League win over mighty Barcelona elevated the Citizens to the clouds, and it was time to show that they could also grind it out in a bread-and-butter Premier League clash.

But they crashed down to earth at the Etihad Stadium yesterday, sharing the spoils in a 1-1 draw with lowly Middlesbrough that no one saw coming.

It wasn’t so much a case of complacency.

It was their failure to put the game beyond the visitors who were outrun and outclassed in the first half.

City had enough chances to bury the match by half-time.

They could have been up by a couple of goals before Sergio Aguero put them ahead just before the break.

The Argentinian should have had a hat-trick before disaster struck in injury-time, when Marten de Roon stole in at the far post to head in the equaliser and send the small pocket of away fans into dreamland.

This was exactly the nightmare manager Pep Guardiola was trying to avoid.

Kevin de Bruyne, prior to the match, had fired an ominous warning.

He rightly pointed out that their five-star European show against the Catalan giants would count for nothing if they couldn’t take down Middlesbrough to keep up their domestic title charge.

This was the perfect chance to build on the impressive 4-1 win over West Brom the last time out.

SHOCK RESULT

Judging from the first-half display, nobody would have predicted the shock result at the end.

The hosts seized the initiative right from the start.

Middlesbrough defended deep, with former City striker Alvaro Negredo isolated on his own up front as the focal point of their counter-attacking game.

City initially struggled to carve out clear goal-scoring chances, but the opportunities began to come in droves after the halfway mark of the first period.

De Bruyne’s attempt in the 24th minute to find the bottom right-corner of goal went narrowly wide.

Moments later, Aguero suddenly found himself with time and space at the edge of the penalty box, but could only send a tame effort straight at Middlesbrough goalkeeper Victor Valdes.

The Argentinian then missed another great opportunity when he failed to match the brilliance of a lovely build-up, failing to beat Valdes from inside the box.

The best chance of the half fell to David Silva just outside the six-yard box in the 35th minute, but Valdes, in inspired form, saved superbly to keep his goal intact.

It seemed like Valdes and Middlesbrough were merely postponing the inevitable though.

Such was City’s dominance.

When Aguero netted his ninth goal in 11 Premier League games by escaping two markers to stab the ball in from close range in the 43rd minute, it looked like the floodgates would open.

Middlesbrough, missing the in-form Gaston Ramirez through suspension, could count themselves lucky to be only a goal down at half-time.

The visitors failed to muster a single shot, let alone trouble Claudio Bravo, and had only 22 per cent of the ball in the first 45 minutes.

City slowed down their frantic attacking pace in the second period, although they still continued to enjoy chances in front of Middlesbrough’s goal.

The visitors fired an early warning though, when out of the blue, Adam Forshaw found himself with only Bravo to beat, but the custodian pulled off an excellent save.

Halfway through the second half, Ilkay Guendogan, scorer of two goals against Barcelona, saw his volley go narrowly wide after the ball fell kindly to him.

Then Aguero missed another easy chance by heading over.

Four minutes from time, he had yet another opportunity to seal a victory but, despite being in acres of space in the penalty area, sent his effort over the bar.

The stage was set for the classic sucker-punch.

In the dying moments, George Friend curled in a peach of a cross from the left flank to the far post, where de Roon delivered a stunning header past Bravo.

The match statistics magnified City’s profligacy. They had peppered 25 shots at their opponents, seven of which were on target.

Middlesbrough mustered just five, with only three on target.

Enough said.

BY THE NUMBERS

150: Sergio Aguero has now scored 150 goals in just 223 appearances in all competitions for Manchester City.

With their balloon sculptures and distinct slapstick humour, clowns are traditionally thought to spread joy and laughter.

But some people are viewing these fun-loving entertainers as something more sinister these days.

In what has been dubbed the “creepy clown” craze, pranksters around the world have started dressing up as clowns – but to frighten people.

This trend, which originated in the United States some time around August, has since spread here.

Last week, a video of 19-year-old student Joel Wong scaring passers-by while dressed in a clown costume surfaced online. He has since apologised for his actions.

The antics of these pranksters worsen the perception that clowns are scary, which was perpetuated by famous villainous clowns such as Pennywise in Stephen King’s novel It, and the Joker from the Batman comic series. (See report)

A Google image search of the word “clown” reveals the extent of this fear – nearly half of the results are of scary clowns.

The hysteria has even caused fast food chain McDonald’s in the US to stop public appearances of its clown mascot, in case it contributes to the fear mongering, reported The Washington Post.

But as the “creepy clown” craze continues to spread, professional clowns here may have the last laugh as their business remains unaffected.

Mr Edmund Khong, 35, who has been a practising clown for the past 12 years, says the demand for his services has not taken any hits.

He says: “I know it’s a big problem overseas, but thankfully, it is still all right over here. I continue to get advance bookings.” (See report)

Mr Edward Leong, who performs regionally, says his services are still very much in demand.

The 47-year-old Malaysian, who adopts the persona of Uncle Fishy de Clown, has been performing for the past 14 years.

Mr Leong, who comes to Singapore for a gig about twice a month, says: “It’s never affected my business in Singapore or anywhere else. I still have lots of shows, and all my customers are happy with the show I put on.”

Event organisers tell The New Paper on Sunday that clowns remain “essential” to certain events here.

Mr Robin Goh, manager at JNR entertainment, says: “Clowns will always be needed. If we have no clowns for events such as carnivals or children’s parties, they won’t feel so alive.”

The company has been organising corporate family day events for seven years, and regularly features clowns at the events.

WORRIED

But beneath the exaggerated make-up-drawn smiles, professional clowns admit to being worried by the “creepy clown” craze.

Mr Khong says: “I am concerned about people’s perceptions. They might not be able to tell if these creepy clowns are acting or not, and then they might be scared of real clowns like us.”

The problem has been highlighted by the World Clown Association (WCA), a global clown organisation that has more than 2,100 members across 30 different countries.

Its president, Mr Randy Christensen, says the pranksters who dress up as them are “not clowns”.

In a statement posted on the WCA Facebook page, he says: “We believe the art of clown is something to be treasured and enjoyed by audiences worldwide.

“We stand with our safety officers who call for an end to the traumatisation of individuals and communities. This clearly is not the act of a professional clown.”

Dr Thomas Petschner, director of non-profit organisation Clown Doctors Singapore, which organises clown visits to hospitals to cheer patients up, has a similar stance on the issue.

He tells TNPS: “Everyone should acknowledge that (the pranksters) are not clowns. We have an epidemic of people getting disturbed by attention-seeking individuals, or perhaps fetish for dressing up as clowns to invoke fear.”

Even Stephen King, creator of the demonic clown Pennywise, has spoken out against the problem.

He tweeted last month: “Hey, guys, time to cool the clown hysteria – most of (them) are good, cheer up the kiddies, make people laugh.”

Despite the problem of creepy clowns, Mr Leong says he will not stop performing.

He says juggling some people’s fear of clowns has always been part of the job, and there are ways to bounce back from such issues.

Mr Leong says: “Clowns have always had to deal with people scared of them, so we have to come up with our own ways to soothe the fears.”

For his act, Mr Leong adopts a careful approach when he notices children who might be frightened.

“He starts his act from a distance. Often, the children end up warming to him.

“It’s something very magical when they manage to get past their fears,” he says.

With a loud laugh, he says: “Sometimes, the ones who stood the furthest away end up being the ones closest to me, asking for more jokes and tricks.”

Auxiliary police officer Wee Chui Li (above), 40, never missed a day of work, even if she was feeling unwell.

When the Malaysian woman did not show up at her workplace in Singapore on Thursday morning and did not respond to calls and text messages, her colleagues and friends got worried.

Her best friend, Ms Tee Choon Meng, 37, hurried back to Johor Baru at 7pm after her shift in Singapore ended.

In a telephone interview, Ms Tee told The New Paper on Sunday: “I searched for her in police stations and hospitals, but I could not find any information.”

So she decided to extend her search to Facebook. It was then that she spotted her friend’s motorcycle on a Facebook page that posts updates of accidents on Malaysian roads.

She rallied a group of five friends and family members to search for Ms Wee that night.

But it was only at 11am yesterday that Ms Tee’s fears were confirmed.

Ms Wee’s body was found nearly 54 hours after she fell into a drain on her way to work here.

Ms Wee was at the Taman Sri Tebrau road junction at about 6.40am on Thursday when another motorcycle hit her.

The accident happened when she was about 30 minutes from the Woodlands Checkpoint.

The impact of the crash caused Ms Wee’s motorcycle to skid and she fell into a drain, which was connected to Sungai Tebrau, reported Malaysian newspaper Sin Chew Daily.

The other motorcyclist, who was behind her, fell off the bike after the crash.

RAINING

Visibility was poor that morning as it was raining heavily.

Passers-by tried to help but Ms Wee was carried away by the strong currents very quickly, said witnesses.

Ms Tee, who has been friends with Ms Wee for 20 years, recounted their futile search.

They had rushed down to the scene at about 9pm and a police officer confirmed the accident because Ms Wee’s identity card was found next to the motorcycle.

She said: “The rescue team would start searching only the next morning, so we wanted to find her on our own as fast as possible.

“Only one of us had a torchlight and the rest of us used the light from our mobile phones.”

They found her helmet after walking for a few hours and searched until about 3am on Friday morning.

The Johor Fire and Rescue Department said it was informed of the incident only on Friday. A search and rescue team was sent to the scene.

The search was called off by 6.30pm on Friday and resumed again yesterday.

Johor Fire and Rescue Department public relations unit head Mohamad Riduan Akhyar told the New Straits Times Online the body of Ms Wee was found washed up on the riverbank, about 5km from the accident site.

Mr Riduan said the team had been searching for her along the monsoon drain and at the rubbish traps that led into Sungei Tebrau.

“The body of the victim has been handed over to the police for further action,” said Mr Riduan.

Her body was taken to the Sultanah Aminah Hospital, reported Sin Chew Daily.

The Selangor native lived in Plentong, Johor Baru, about an hour from Singapore.

She had to report to work in Singapore by 9am every day.

Ms Wee, who was single, had worked in Singapore for 19 years.

Her elder brother and younger sister rushed to Johor Baru after hearing about the accident.

Ms Tee described her friend as a friendly and warm-hearted person.

She said: “We became close because she was living alone without her family.

“I was really hoping that she was still alive, or that someone had found her. “

It was a day out at the zoo for The New Paper New Face 2016 winner Kim Min Pei Lam on Thursday.

The Nanyang Technological University student had a sneak peek of the route for this year’s The New Paper Courts Big Walk, at the Singapore Zoo and Night Safari on Nov 26.

“I am really excited to see all the cute animals and take selfies with them,” said the 22-year-old Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information student.

She soon got her first chance, with Jubilee, the first giraffe calf to be born in the zoo in 28 years.

Jubilee, which was born on Aug 31 last year, is named after Singapore’s SG50 celebrations.

“I know he is only a baby but he is already so tall,” said Kim.

CALM

Jubilee appeared calm and had a separate area to feed in, which was catered to its height. It tried to stay close to its mother Roni, which arrived at the zoo in 2005.

But Kim was able to snap a selfie with it when it ventured towards its feeding area.

The next stop was the orang utan habitat, where Kim met the new Ah Meng.

After the iconic Ah Meng died of old age in 2008, its granddaughter Ishta took on the name this year and is now the face of the Singapore Zoo.

Kim was able to stand very close to the orang utans as they ate nuts but was not allowed to touch them.

She was taken aback by their human-like behaviour as they ate in a disciplined manner and would immediately obey their trainer’s commands.

Said Kim: “They are really intelligent, I can feel it. It was quite surprising and I could really see how similar they are to humans.”

Soon, it was time to meet the zoo’s newest additions – the tree kangaroos.

Makaia, a “miracle” male Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo, was adopted by a wallaby at the Adelaide Zoo in Australia when it was seven weeks old after its mother died.

It was moved to the Singapore Zoo in July and paired with female tree kangaroo, Nupela, in the hope that they will mate and help to continue the survival of their endangered species.

“So cute!” was the squeal from Kim when she spotted Makaia, which was feeding.

Kim quickly snapped a selfie when it finally looked up from its food.

Over at the Night Safari, Kim met the adorable and cheeky Neha, the safari’s newest elephant.

The boisterous female, born in May this year, chased birds and played in the mud while the adult elephants looked on patiently.

“She’s like an excited little puppy!” said Kim.

She added: “My favourite animal is usually the elephant but today, the tree kangaroo really won me over.

“I know I saw only one of them but they are really adorable and hearing how the zoo wants them to mate and have babies, I think that is really magical.”

Check out our video of the route at tnp.sg

WHEN

Saturday, Nov 26, 2pm

WHERE

Singapore Zoo & Night Safari

HOW

Register online at www.tnpbigwalk.sg

REGISTRATION FEE

$42 ($35 for early-bird sign-ups)

BONUS

Discounted tickets to the River Safari at $8 each with every registration (maximum of four tickets per participant)

WIN

• A Harley-Davidson Street 750 bike worth $17,000
• A total of $28,000 worth of lucky draw prizes

MORE

• Courts Megastore 10th Anniversary logos will be planted along the route of The New Paper Courts Big Walk.
• Count the total number of logos you spot on the way, visit the Courts Megastore and answer the question correctly to redeem a FREE goodie bag.

SINGAPORE: Department store John Little will close its last remaining outlet at Plaza Singapura by the end of December this year, the Robinsons Group announced in a statement on Saturday (Nov 5).

The decision was made after evaluating the relevancy and sustainability of its brick-and-mortar business, said the Robinsons Group, adding that John Little will instead evolve as a brand into a pop-up format, which it will unveil next year.

“This closure is part of the consolidation efforts to focus on businesses that are growing within the Robinsons Group, while rechannelling our resources to bring in new brands and shopping concepts to excite the retail industry,” the group said.

Affected staff members have been briefed and they will be deployed to “other suitable businesses” within the organisation, it added. 

The group, which is owned by the Dubai-headquartered Al-Futtaim Group, also manages Robinsons and Marks and Spencer.

SINGAPORE: Infrastructure and manpower will not be a cause for concern when compulsory education is extended to all children with disabilities from 2019, Minister of State for Education, Janil Puthucheary said on Saturday (Nov 5) in an exclusive interview with Channel NewsAsia.

According to the Ministry of Education, there are around 40 children with special education (SPED) needs each year, who are enrolled in private education institutions, are home-schooled or unable to attend schools due to severe disabilities.

“Given the number of kids that are not currently enrolled in SPED schools, and the total capacity and the total number of children that are already enrolled, that absolute, big picture number is really not an issue,” said Dr Janil who chairs the advisory panel on how the change will be implemented.

“The places, the spaces are there, but what are the skills and resources that need to be deployed? We’ve got a bit of work to do ahead of us and that’s why we have this advisory panel. We’ve got about a year, or just over a year to sort all this out. And we will.”

Dr Janil added that special attention needs to be paid to SPED children after they leave school. “That’s the next big step that we need to take – what happens when they leave school and they become adults with disability and adults with special needs, in terms of either care or employment,” he said. 

“Consistently, the biggest thing that stands out is the concern about bullying and social stigmatisation.”

Dr Janil’s interview with Channel NewsAsia is reproduced below:

Q: Why did the government decide to make education compulsory for special needs children?

A: Long-term, the idea is to firstly, make it clear that we’re inclusive, and we want to make sure that all children get some form of appropriate education. And really understand deeper, what are the challenges for those families that currently face difficulties accessing education – what more can we do to bring them into the fold and have those kids have an opportunity to access education.

Q: Is this move a very big commitment from the government when in fact, it only really affects 40 or so SPED students per year?

A: We don’t have an absolute indication of the numbers. We have a sense of those children who are not in the SPED space and are not in mainstream schools in terms of an absolute number. But without them being part of the system, we don’t have a deep understanding of what their challenges are and what their needs are.

Now, a fair number of them may actually be getting very appropriate education and care, either at home from their parents and people in their community, or in private schools, or foreign system schools. So we’re not automatically saying that all 40 of these kids per year need to be relocated. But we want to be able to engage with these families and engage with these kids and see what we can do for them.

Q: How equipped are we to accept 100 per cent of such students in terms of the manpower required and the infrastructure?

A: Given the number of kids that are not currently enrolled in the SPED schools, and the total capacity and the total number of children that are already enrolled, that absolute, big picture number is really not an issue.

The number who are not enrolled is very, very small, compared to the total spaces available, and the total number of children available. What may or may not be a challenge – and we don’t know that yet, is the specific needs of those kids.

So the places, the spaces are there, but what are the skills and resources that need to be deployed? We’ve got a bit of work to do ahead of us and that’s why we have this advisory panel. We’ve got about a year, or just over a year to sort all this out. And we will.

We’re going to engage healthcare experts, SPED experts, policy experts, bring people together and really do that groundwork to make sure we get those kids appropriately placed. 

Q: The recommendation to tweak the Compulsory Education Act came about five years ago. So what has happened between then and now, leading up to the policy change?

A: In the last five years, we’ve had a big increase in the number of staff, the availability of spaces, but really the key issue is the programmes and the professionalism that have been developed within the sector. All of that wasn’t done because we were going to launch changes to the Compulsory Education Act. Those were done because they needed to be done in service of these children and their education. From our perspective, now that it’s all been done, we can amend the Act and deliver on that promise.

Q: I believe at Pathlight, there is a queue for kids who want to enter that school. Is there a perception perhaps that Pathlight school is better than the rest of the SPED schools? And if that’s the case, how does the government balance that so that there isn’t an extra demand on just Pathlight?

A: You see our system, we have an idea, and a principle, and an intent, that parents have a choice, and we want to preserve that. Now, once you say that you give people choice, there’s going to be some imbalance. There are going to be people who choose to go one place, and not so much the other place. As a result, you have queues.

Now, that doesn’t mean there isn’t capacity in the system; there isn’t capacity in other schools. One of the things about Pathlight that makes it very attractive is the ability to access mainstream curriculum. I think it is very difficult for a parent of a child with special needs to not want that. And if you say: “I’m not going to go into a school which offers the mainstream curriculum”, in a way you’re accepting that your child will not have a mainstream education, and will have a slightly different education. 

It is very understandable that parents cannot easily make that choice. I think it’s entirely understandable. So that leads to this perception, that they want to get into a place like Pathlight so that they can access the mainstream education.

So we have to do some work, and that’s part of what the advisory panel needs to do, to balance the aspirations the parents have, the needs of the children, and the resources we’re going to have available and make available.

Q: Having walked the ground and gathered feedback from the SPED sector, tell us about some of the observations you’ve made.

A: There is a very real and significant anxiety about what happens once they leave school. I think this is the next big frontier that we really have to … I know lots of work is happening on this – SG Enable is doing a lot of work, many employers are coming on board, and MSF is doing a lot of work.

But I think in terms of settling the anxiety of the families that are within this space, that’s I think the next big step that we need to take – what happens when they leave school and they become adults with disability and adults with special needs, in terms of either care or employment. So that’s one big concern.

You know speaking to the families and speaking to the professionals, both at MOE side and within the sector, we talk about any number of factors that we can make better, whether it’s the physical infrastructure, or whether it’s the curricula approach, whether it’s the regulatory approach, how we structure the schools, we can talk about all these factors.

But when I speak to the kids, who have been through, and who are now in the post-secondary space – whether ITE, poly, university – consistently, the biggest thing that stands out is the concern about bullying and social stigmatisation. And it’s quite incredible. We can talk about all these other things, but that’s the reality.

From an individual perspective, it is that idea of dignity, of normal human interaction, and that’s not something you can legislate, that’s not something we can do from a policy perspective. We’ve really got to have that whole society approach and bring people along this journey.

So actually, we’ve come full circle. That’s what this is about. It’s about sending a message to everybody, that we have to treat everybody with dignity and not to have that approach of stigmatisation and not allow bullying to go unremarked upon and have that kind of embarrassment and fear out there.

And if we can fix that, then that’s a huge step for the whole society.

SINGAPORE — Part snarky, part witty, he provides you with the latest bus arrival timings, complete with Singlish zingers cheeky enough to put a smile on your face.

Your bus arrives in 12 minutes? “12 mins got time to HTHT with your friend,” he deadpans, using the colloquial acronym for the Singlish term “heart-to-heart talk”.

If your bus is arriving soon, he tells you, almost ominously: “It’s now or never.”

A real person? No, this is Bus Uncle, a chatbot on Facebook created by 24-year-old Abhilash Murthy which provides commuters with bus arrival timings.

Bus Uncle has spread like wildfire, with more than 16,000 users liking the chatbot’s page since it went live on Oct 20. During peak hours, it receives 40 to 50 requests per minute. Many have praised its humour and ease of use. Facebook user Gherry Harahap wrote: “Best thing ever since sliced Kaya toast bread and soft-boiled eggs.”

On its popularity, Mr Murthy, a software engineer at a tech startup, said: “I have made a few apps like these only for friends to play around with. This, for some reason, was shared very quickly. It is very unexpected.”

He told TODAY the idea was conceived in mid-October, while he was, well, waiting for a bus — service number 65 to be exact.

“I had a few bus arrival timing applications on my phone, and while they do give me the correct timing… I had to scroll through a list… of information that I might no need,” he said.

Then the idea struck him to create something that gives commuters “exactly the information (they) want”.

The alumnus of Singapore Management University, who had experience building apps and websites, said this was his first foray into chatbots.

The basic working prototype took him two days. It took him another four days to add functionality – searching for a bus stop by text, for example, instead of just bus stop numbers. Bus arrival timings are drawn from data from the Land Transport Authority.

Then he wanted to give it “some personality”. The India-born Singapore permanent resident said: “I was immediately reminded of all the times I took buses, and the bus drivers would be very kiasu, and sometimes grumpy. That’s the perfect personality for Bus Uncle … something that a lot of Singaporeans can relate to.”

So he turned to his Singaporean girlfriend, Ms Chan Yin Yin, for the Singlish zingers, and another friend gave it the final design touch.

The popularity of chatbot has led to multiple server crashes, sometimes “a couple of times a day”. To that end, Mr Murthy is working to “fix the infrastructure”, for which he is now paying “a little premium” for better and more stable servers and security.

Due to the runaway success of his chatbot, Mr Murthy revealed that “a few companies in the transportation sector” have approached him on the possibility of collaborations.

“My primary goal was to open the eyes of a lot of Singaporeans to show that… there are also bots that can work for you.

Calling chatbots the “new frontier in technology”, he said: “I hope…to be able to see a movie or food recommendation bot in the future.”