Artificial intelligence is evolving unprecedently. From smart digital assistants to autonomous cars, this technology is touching every aspect of life and work. Extending beyond a science-fiction anecdote, AI is prevalent today and can encompass anything from Google's search algorithms to IBM's Watson and autonomous weapons. Many big tech giants are making big leaps toward artificial intelligence by acquiring and merging with AI companies and startups. Here, we will look at the tech giants' AI ambitions.

In reporting in China on the country's "Two Sessions," a new anchorwoman "Xin Xiaomeng" was seen. She is a virtual anchor created through the application of artificial intelligence technology. "She" is the first artificial intelligence virtual female anchor in the world, with real anchor of Xinhua News Agency Qu Meng serving as her prototype. She was jointly created by China's Xinhua News Agency and Sogou. "Her" partner, "Xin Xiaohao," upgraded from "sitting upright" to "standing upright," broadcast the content of the Two Sessions with gestures and other body language.

In July 2017, China published its Next Generation AI Development Plan. As analysts such as Jeff Ding of Oxford University point out, it was not a green-field programme. It rather sought to gather and focus a diverse set of existing initiatives in response to what local academics called a'Sputnik moment': the 2016 defeat of the world's best Go player, Lee Sedol, by a Google-owned AI. For context, China's AI industry was estimated to be worth around RMB15bn (£1.7bn) when the plan was released. The plan often provokes sceptical responses outside China but the country has made significant advances toward the 2020 goal (indeed large parts of it have arguably already been achieved).

Apple is reportedly working on a processor that is devoted to AI-related tasks to improve how its devices handle tasks that require human intelligence. A man takes a selfie while waiting for the start of an Apple event at the Worldwide Developer's Conference on June 13, 2016 in San Francisco, California. Looking at what's been discussed to this point (and speculating on what Apple will announce at its Worldwide Developer Conference Monday), it's safe to say that all of these organizations are keenly focused on different types of artificial intelligence, or AI. What this means is that each wants to create unique experiences that leverage both new types of computing components and software algorithms to automatically generate useful information about the world around us. In other words, they want to use real-world data in clever ways to enable cool stuff.