Despite its status as the world's most valuable firm, Apple has for some time been thought to lag its biggest rivals in developing one of today's most valued technologies. In the artificial intelligence (AI) battle, it still looks a relative weakling next to the likes of Amazon and Google. No wonder that when Light Reading polled readers in February, asking them what Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) should spend its billions on, the most popular response was artificial intelligence and machine learning. But Apple this week may have found a far less costly way of closing the AI gap. Rather than splurging billions on touted AI startups, it has poached one of the smartest AI experts from one of its main competitors. According to a report from the New York Times (NYT), the executive in question is none other than John Giannandrea, the head of search and artificial intelligence for Google.

If you're considering a video doorbell, the Nest Hello should be on your short list. It has great video quality, a solid app, and it operated flawlessly during my test. There's slick integration with Google Home and Google Assistant, and a recently launched 5-day subscription plan for storing video in the cloud reduces one of the biggest hurdles to a Nest system: the ongoing running cost. It's a worthy competitor to the Ring Video Doorbell 2, but the Nest Hello requires wiring so we still recommend the Ring if you need a battery-powered device. Nest Hello is a smart, good-looking doorbell that feels solid and well made.

Dating app Tinder has gone down, leaving legions of internet singles in despair at being unable to swipe or access their messages. Changes to Facebook's Application Programming Interface (API) locked Tinder users out of their accounts around the globe before the glitch was fixed. Furious Tinder devotees took to Twitter to vent their anger, reserving their harshest criticism for Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Changes to Facebook's Application Programming Interface (API) locked Tinder users out of their accounts around the globe before the glitch was fixed (pictured is the error message) This generation may never forgive Mark,' wrote one Twitter user. 'I lost all of my messages,' said another.

Apple has just poached one of Google's top AI executives in a move likely to have far-reaching consequences. Apple has hired John Giannandrea, previously Google's head of AI and Search, The New York Times reports. Giannandrea will lead Apple's "machine learning and A.I. strategy," the Cupertino company said in a statement to the Times; he will be one of only 16 executives that report directly to CEO Tim Cook. Just yesterday, The Information (paywalled) had reported that Giannandrea would be stepping down from his role at Google and would be replaced by 19-year Google veteran Jeff Dean. Giannandrea first joined Google in 2010 after it acquired MetaWeb, where he served as CTO.

Voice-enabled personal assistants seem to be headed for ubiquity in the consumer world. Market research firm Gartner predicts consumer demand for voice devices such as Amazon Echo and Google Home will generate $3.5 billion by 2021. But they are not confined to living rooms, telling you the day's weather or reading out news briefings. Intelligent voice assistants are slowly but steadily being adopted in healthcare. Several hospitals, such as Boston Children's Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, are experimenting with voice assistants and conversational artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to provide relevant information and answer queries of patients and medical staff.

Apple has hired Google's chief of search and artificial intelligence, John Giannandrea, a major coup in its bid to catch up to the artificial intelligence technology of its rivals. Apple said Tuesday that Giannandrea will run Apple's "machine learning and AI strategy," and become one of 16 executives who report directly to Apple's chief executive, Tim Cook. The hire is a victory for Apple, which many Silicon Valley executives and analysts view as lagging its peers in artificial intelligence, an increasingly crucial technology for companies that enable computers to handle more complex tasks, like understanding voice commands or identifying people in images. "Our technology must be infused with the values we all hold dear," Cook said Tuesday morning in an email to staff members obtained by The New York Times. "John shares our commitment to privacy and our thoughtful approach as we make computers even smarter and more personal."

Most AI assistants can't really hold a conversation. They're fine with I-go-you-go dialogue, but most humans aren't quite so timid -- they know when to interrupt, and when to restart chat when there's an awkward pause. Microsoft wants to fix that. It just upgraded its Xiaolce chatbot AI with "full duplex" conversation that lets it start speaking when it's listening to what you're saying. As it can predict what you're likely to say next, it knows when to interrupt you with important info or say something more when both sides suddenly go quiet.

Today, Facebook made a series of changes to the kinds of data third-party apps can collect from the social network. The adjustments are designed to limit the information apps can gather from users following the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which Facebook now says affected 87 million users, up from the "approximately" 270,000 initially reported to have downloaded the app by the social media giant in March. The new policies appear to be affecting the performance of the dating app Tinder. Users on Twitter, as well as several people in WIRED's offices, have reported issues logging into the app, instead finding themselves in a never-ending loop between Facebook and Tinder: If you try to log into Tinder with your Facebook account, the app asks you to provide Facebook more permissions. But if you tap "ask me," the only option available, the app requests again that you log into Facebook.

SILENTLY think of a question and I will answer it. That might sound like a magic trick, but it is the promise of AlterEgo, a headset that lets you speak to a computer without ever uttering a sound. It's not quite a mind reader, but it is close. The device brings us a step closer to a world where we can interact seamlessly with machines using only our thoughts. AlterEgo's creators believe that rather than embarrassingly saying things like "OK Google" or "Hey Siri" and then …

I have the original Amazon Echo (the tall one), a 2nd generation (the squat one) and recently purchased an Echo Dot (2nd generation) along with a Bluetooth speaker that I bought specifically to use with it, so I thought it time to post a review comparing the two full size versions against the experience of the Dot. First, as we all know, the Dot has small, tinny speakers which are the equivalent of what you would get from playing on a mobile phone... all fine and as advertised as you can either connect external speakers via Bluetooth or wired. Dependant on what you attach to it you can get audio which could potentially be better than the built-in speakers of the full size devices. What I didn't appreciate was that if you have multiple Echos and are hoping to use the Multi-room audio functionality, if any of your Echos are connected via Bluetooth to an external speaker then the music will not play on that speaker but will revert to the speaker on the Echo itself. I spent an hour thinking I'd set things up incorrectly or the Bluetooth speaker was at fault before I realised.