Apple boasts about its AI efforts, but it's hard not notice that it lags behind Google and Facebook

Apple wants you to know that Siri is no dunderhead. The normally secretive tech giant lifted the lid on its artificial intelligence efforts by inviting the writer Steven Levy to its headquarters to hear it crow about all the products and services that are benefiting from various machine-learning techniques, especially deep learning. The resulting article, published on Levy's site, Backchannel, paints a picture of a company keen to boast about its AI chops. It's certainly interesting to hear about how deep learning is being used to improve Siri's hearing, voice, and natural language; and how machine learning is helping to make other Apple products smarter. But it's also hard not to notice that the company is starting to lag behind some of its competitors.