The Reason Secretive Apple Is Opening Up on Artificial Intelligence

A change in cultural norms influences changes in intellectual property - and corporate communications. JL Tripp Mickle reports in the Wall Street Journal: The battle for artificial-intelligence expertise is forcing Apple Inc. AAPL 1.01% to grapple with its famous penchant for secrecy, as tech companies seek to woo talent in a discipline known for its openness. "We come from a community where we share ideas and get credit for it and a lot of us would be very unhappy to give that up," The battle for artificial-intelligence expertise is forcing Apple Inc. AAPL 1.01% to grapple with its famous penchant for secrecy, as tech companies seek to woo talent in a discipline known for its openness. The technology giant this year has been trying to draw attention--but only so much--to its efforts to develop artificial intelligence, or AI, a term that generally describes software that enables computers to learn and improve functions on their own. Apple launched a public blog in July to talk about its work, for example, and has allowed its researchers to speak at several conferences on artificial intelligence, including a TED Talk in April by Tom Gruber, co-creator of Apple's Siri voice assistant, that was posted on YouTube last month.