Apple Set to Join Microsoft, Google, and Facebook in AI Research Group

[MacRumors]

Apple will take a significant step toward disclosing more of its artificial intelligence research this week by becoming a member of a non-profit AI research consortium founded by five of the tech industry's biggest players.

Last September, Amazon, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and IBM publicly announced The Partnership on AI, an organization established "to study and formulate best practices, to advance the public's understanding of AI, and to serve as an open platform for discussion and engagement about AI and its influences on people and society".

As one of the biggest researchers in AI, Apple's name was conspicuously absent, but that looks set to change in the coming days, following a Bloomberg report on Thursday that Cupertino is ready to add its name to The Partnership's list of corporate heavyweights.

According to its website, the Partnership on AI intends to conduct research, organize discussions, share insights, provide thought leadership, consult with relevant third parties, respond to questions from the public and media, and create educational material that advance the understanding of AI technologies including machine perception, learning, and automated reasoning.

Apple's imminent membership is just the latest indication that the company is prepared to reveal more of its work in areas of artificial intelligence. At an invitation-only AI conference held in Barcelona last month, where Apple employees discussed their work in various related fields, the company announced it would begin allowing its AI and machine learning researchers to publish and share their work in papers.

Two weeks later, the first paper was published, covering Apple's work on intelligent image recognition. Cupertino is also known to be working on a range of other AI projects, including health and vital signs, LiDAR, neural networks, intelligent assistant and language modeling, and activity recognition.

While the Partnership's founding members are committed to publishing a wide range of research under an open license, just how much of this work will be shared remains unclear, but we should know more soon. Apple is expected to announce its membership in the Partnership later this week.

Article Link: Apple Set to Join Microsoft, Google, and Facebook in AI Research Group

 

[plexdk]

That's one thing that would never have happened under Steve

 

[GubbyMan]

I was really worried that Apple would have been out of the AI game but they seem to have adjusted fast. This is about the future. AI will be able to do so much more than what it does today and Apple would have had a hard time if they did not take this step. Some companies have failed to see the advantage in changing and taking steps like these, Nokia comes to mind when it comes to the smartphone transition phase.

 

[Delgibbons]

I like it when companies work for the common good.

I for one welcome our impending robot overlords.

 

[heimo]

I strongly believe that in this field - AI - multiple big players working together may result in results larger than the sum of the components. There are benefits to be gained. I base my expert opinion on truthiness gained by trolling since Usenet.

 

[Solomani]

Collaboration = Good for everyone

 

[Delgibbons]

Importantly this means no draaaaaging onnnnn patent lawsuits, right?

 

[mi7chy]

Smart move for Apple to follow the leaders under the guise of collaboration to steal their secret sauce.

 

[Bacillus]

Smart move for Apple to follow the leaders under the guise of collaboration to steal their secret sauce.

Whaha ! Scratch your head when they start talking about "friends and allies".
More to gain from others than to lose.

 

[keysofanxiety]

Smart move for Apple to follow the leaders under the guise of collaboration to steal their secret sauce.

Google and Microsoft's data mining is no secret. Personally I'd rather the 'assistant' on my phone was a little dumber if it meant the company considered my privacy paramount.

Apple will eventually get there; it'll just be a matter of time. They're taking a longer and more difficult route due to their staunch stance on privacy, which I'd argue would be more beneficial in the long run.

 

[Avieshek]

Samsung joining soon.

 

[JGRE]

Google and Microsoft's data mining is no secret. Personally I'd rather the 'assistant' on my phone was a little dumber if it meant the company considered my privacy paramount.

Apple will eventually get there; it'll just be a matter of time. They're taking a longer and more difficult route due to their staunch stance on privacy, which I'd argue would be more beneficial in the long run.

You probably aren't using Siri, I guess? Any dumber..........

 

[keysofanxiety]

You probably aren't using Siri, I guess? Any dumber..........

I use it to set timers/alarms when I'm cooking, call/text people while I'm driving, or ask it to open Maps and direct me somewhere. That's about it really and it seems to work fine on my older 5S.

Granted I don't use it for much more than that and I'm not doubting there are issues when you go above and beyond what little I do. However Siri does make my life easier for what I use it for. Personally I think the old girl gets a bad rap. She's not mindblowing but she's far from utterly useless either.

The only real issue that affects an otherwise content relationship is lack of offline functionality and poor performance when Wi-Fi or 4G isn't readily available.

 

[plexdk]

You probably aren't using Siri, I guess? Any dumber..........

They use AI in a lot of other places - like picture search, works pretty good.

 

[smacrumon]

" to benefit people and society " -- not while Google or Facebook are involved.

 

[maflynn]

Given how Siri is less capable then GoogleNow and Cortana, They're needing to work harder at this.

I mean Amazon caught them (and Google) flat footed with their home assistant, something that could have been a perfect fit for Apple.

 

[cicalinarrot]

"To benefit people and society". There's no need to lie that hard.

 

[Rogifan]

Given how Siri is less capable then GoogleNow and Cortana, They're needing to work harder at this.

I mean Amazon caught them (and Google) flat footed with their home assistant, something that could have been a perfect fit for Apple.

is that really the case or is it just a meme that's developed and everyone now believes it? I've seen videos where Google Assistant looked just as worthless as Siri supposedly is.

 

[AppleScruff1]

Given how Siri is less capable then GoogleNow and Cortana, They're needing to work harder at this.

I mean Amazon caught them (and Google) flat footed with their home assistant, something that could have been a perfect fit for Apple.

is that really the case or is it just a meme that's developed and everyone now believes it? I've seen videos where Google Assistant looked just as worthless as Siri supposedly is.

No, Siri sucks.

 

[Radon87000]

Good.In its current state even Google Now blows Siri out of the water let alone Google assistant.I am positive even Bixby would wreck Siri

 

[maflynn]

is that really the case or is it just a meme that's developed and everyone now believes it? I've seen videos where Google Assistant looked just as worthless as Siri supposedly is.

Using all three, I'd say GoogleNow and Cortana are superior and Siri's limitations are quite evident.

Edit, by the way, I fixed your quote tags, it seems xen doesn't like then ending of a quote tag to be bolded

 

[69Mustang]

Google and Microsoft's data mining is no secret. Personally I'd rather the 'assistant' on my phone was a little dumber if it meant the company considered my privacy paramount.

Apple's data mining is no secret either. It's just that some people either don't realize it or they intentionally ignore it because it goes against what they believe. Apple clearly data mines customer info and they tell you, very clearly, they data mine customer info. But that's a side topic best discussed on it's own. I don't want to derail a positive thread.

Joining the AI group... there's nothing but good news there. This will help push along the advances in AI for the benefit of all. Whether one company was ahead, behind, or right in the middle of AI knowledge, there's something to be gained from all contributions. I'm happy these companies realize the collective knowledge helps everyone move forward.

 

[steve62388]

It's only a matter of time until things get out of hand...

 

[thekeyring]

That's one thing that would never have happened under Steve

"Just do what's right" comes to mind.
[doublepost=1485436093][/doublepost]

I use it to set timers/alarms when I'm cooking, call/text people while I'm driving, or ask it to open Maps and direct me somewhere. That's about it really and it seems to work fine on my older 5S.

Granted I don't use it for much more than that and I'm not doubting there are issues when you go above and beyond what little I do. However Siri does make my life easier for what I use it for. Personally I think the old girl gets a bad rap. She's not mindblowing but she's far from utterly useless either.

The only real issue that affects an otherwise content relationship is lack of offline functionality and poor performance when Wi-Fi or 4G isn't readily available.

I really think the main disadvantage Siri has is lack of web search.

On Siri, if she directs you to a Google search, you know. On Google Now, it's integrated with the web.

 

[Mac Fly (film)]

I mean Amazon caught them (and Google) flat footed with their home assistant, something that could have been a perfect fit for Apple.

Short memory; Apple never first to market.