Alexa in space? Why free-floating AI friends are in our interplanetary future

This post is part of Science of Sci-Fi , Mashable's ongoing series dissecting the science (or lack of science) in our favorite sci-fi movies, TV shows, and books. Not many American nerds these days know about a golden age sci-fi writer called Edmond Hamilton. If they do, it's because of his Star Wars connections: Hamilton was the husband of Leigh Brackett, space opera queen and author of the first draft of The Empire Strikes Back; he also happened to be the first guy to use a "laser...