Why AI and machine learning are so hard, Facebook and Google weigh in - TechRepublic

Pundits are quick to hype AI and machine learning as the future of everything. But, anyone who has been caught screaming at Siri for its lack of understanding of the most basic of queries knows that we have a long, ponderous way to go before "we have arrived." That's why I find Gil Press' summary of the recent O'Reilly AI Conference so helpful and important. Some of the observations are banal ("AI is not going to exterminate us, AI is going to empower us"), but others capture the essence of what makes AI so promising...and beguiling. The first observation ("AI is difficult") seems obvious, yet for all the wrong reasons.