Inside Look: The World's Largest Tech Companies Are Making Massive AI Investments

From artificial intelligence (AI) that can recognize faces, choose music for you based on your mood, and even drive your car, the technology has come a long way in recent years. Although the concept of intelligent machines has been around since ancient history as part of Greek mythology, only in recent decades has the scientific community made significant advances in practical uses of AI. Consumer applications for AI only took off in the past few years, with the introduction of Amazon's Alexa, the AI that resides in the handy little Bluetooth speaker, Echo. The business world, too, is just starting to explore AI's possible applications in big data analysis for customer relationship management, marketing, and more. Most of the world's tech giants are taking note, exemplified through both internal investments in AI research and development and the acquisition of AI startups.