A theory has taken hold in tech: Apple's devotion to privacy will handicap it during the next major wave of computing, where artificial intelligence like voice interaction, personal assistants and automation take center stage. This morning Apple gave its response: It won't handicap us, because we can do both. A concept called "differential privacy" -- an en vogue statistical method designed to reap useful intel from big piles of data while protecting personally identifying information therein. Apple has branded itself as antithetical to Google and Facebook, companies that rely on reams of data. But Apple also wants to provide the perks these companies offer -- more smart, personalized services -- that require reams of data.

Siri upstaged Cortana Monday morning, in a digital assistant battle that's just starting to heat up. Microsoft may have positioned Cortana as the future of digital assistants with its surprise LinkedIn purchase, but mere hours later, Apple's Siri showed off a few productivity tricks of her own that Microsoft is going to have trouble matching. As part of Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference, Apple executives showed off macOS Sierra, the next iteration of Apple's Mac operating system. An integrated Siri wil be one of its star features. "It's the same Siri on the Mac that we know and love, but now it can do so much more,' said Craig Federighi, senior vice president of software engineering, in describing the new Siri.

Apple has announced that it is bringing its virtual assistant Siri to the next Mac operating system. It can be used to find information on its computers, carry out web searches and send messages to acquaintances. The move lets the firm catch up with Microsoft, which offers a similar facility - Cortana - on Windows 10. Apple also announced it would be opening up Siri on its iOS mobile operating system to third-party apps. The firm's software chief Craig Federighi said that meant iPhone and iPad users would soon be able to send Whatsapp messages or book Uber cars via voice commands.

And now Microsoft has a pool of valuable data -- based on personal and professional information -- that Google, despite its expensive past efforts, does not. Google will have to answer -- particularly since one product Microsoft said LinkedIn will assist with is Cortana, its artificial intelligence-powered personal assistant. AI is a linchpin feature that Google is using with its enterprise software sales pitch. Google's AI is widely considered best in the industry; but with LinkedIn's data, Microsoft could have a critical edge in its offering that trumps Google. If it wants to catch up, Google's not short on the cash.

One of China's most popular smartphone assistants, HTC's Hidi, has ambitions to serve as the voice and personality of countless home robots. The company behind Hidi, Turing Robot, supplies voice recognition and natural-language processing technology for a growing array of hardware, including car systems developed by Bosch and home appliances from Haier. Now the company has developed an operating system for service robots. So far, Turing Robot provides the voice--and brains--for several popular Chinese home entertainment robots. Supplying the intelligence for home robots could be a shrewd move.

Apple's Siri made a big splash when the wisecracking digital assistant debuted on the iPhone five years ago. But as other tech giants jockey to build intelligent "chat bots" and voice-controlled home systems capable of more challenging artificial-intelligence (AI) feats, Siri at times no longer seems cutting edge. On Monday, Apple is expected to demonstrate an upgrade to Siri's smarts as it kicks off its annual software conference. It is a potentially momentous time for the company; sales of its flagship iPhone are slowing, and AI is emerging as a key tech battleground. Apple, Google, Facebook and others are racing to create digital services that consumers will find indispensable for shopping, chatting, controlling other appliances and simply getting through their daily lives.

Shares of Apple (AAPL) today closed down 1.49, or 1.5%, at 97.34, following the company's developer conference in San Francisco earlier today, and the Street is just now catching up with some research views on the matter. Highlights of the presentations included new features for the company's Apple Watch smartwatch, such as handwriting recognition; enhancements to the iOS software of the iPhone and iPad to allow for integration of third-party apps; and several "machine learning" functions, such as an ability to automatically have an iPhone perform image recognition tasks on one's photos collection. There were no new hardware announcements, despite some users pining for updates to the MacBook Pro laptop line. Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster reiterates an Overweight rating, and a 153 price target, writing that "the event was largely incremental and a warm-up for new products in the fall." "The two biggest announcements were opening up Siri and Messaging to iOS developers and adding Apple Pay to the browser (Mac and iOS)," he believes.

Easier to use and bigger emojis, facial recognition in photos, and iPhones and iPads that will be able to understand your conversations and predict words you will use are just some of the new updates Apple has announced. Apple is introducing more artificial intelligence as part of the iOS 10 update, revealed at their World Wide Development Conference (WWDC) in San Fransisco. Apple chief executive Tim Cook said that should lift humanity" and that the update across Apple's four platforms was a "huge moment" for the company. Siri, the techology giant's virtual assistant, will now be able to predict the words you will use in a text conversation. Siri will also be able to find faces in your photo albums.

Back in December, when Slack integrations launched, I wrote Clippy's Revenge about the potential of "smart messaging" to become a new platform. Since then, big players have done much to nurture that possibility -- as if on some secret, jointly agreed-upon master schedule. This looks like the battleground of the next tech war, and all eyes are on Apple this week. But how much of the bot craze is hype, and what's worth paying attention to? The frenetic energy around this emerging ecosystem is well-placed, but often confusing. After meeting with more than 50 founders in this space, I'd like to offer a structured explanation of the emerging Conversational Economy, and propose some opportunities (for both big companies and startups).

Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference kicks off Monday, June 13, in San Francisco with one of the company's signature product keynotes. Many expect Apple to announce big new features for Siri, its AI-powered assistant. These include new tools that would finally allow other companies to make their apps and information accessible via Siri, according to a May report from Amir Efrati at The Information. Opening up Siri -- if true -- would be a big step for Apple, which has tightly controlled Siri's capabilities since its debut almost five years ago. Select third-party information and features, such as Yelp restaurant reviews and OpenTable bookings, have long been available via specific partnerships.