Alphabet Holds Lead In Artificial Intelligence; Facebook Lags

"Artificial intelligence appears at last to be coming of age," wrote Richard Windsor, analyst at Edison Investment Research, in a recent 51-page report on the subject. Amazon took a big step in bringing artificial intelligence into the masses two years ago with the introduction of Echo. The multifunctional, voice-activated speaker system is voiced by Alexa. Ask Alexa a question and she'll try to find you an answer, with the support of AI technology. The device can also be used to manage and monitor home utilities.