Microsoft Acquires Semantic Machines for Conversational Artificial Intelligence

Earlier this month at its I/O developer conference, Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) subsidiary Google wowed everyone by demonstrating a new conversational artificial intelligence (AI) technology called Google Duplex, a system that will become part of Google Assistant and will allow the virtual assistant to make phone calls on a user's behalf. The demonstration was striking because it sounded uncannily human, which has raised all sorts of ethical questions. Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) virtual assistant Cortana has some catching up to do (in more ways than one), and the software giant has just announced a new acquisition to that end. Microsoft is acquiring Semantic Machines, a small start-up based in Berkeley that specializes in conversational AI. The goal is to help virtual assistants evolve beyond just simple commands and allow them to better understand broader context and have ongoing conversations with users.