Apple wants to get ahead of its competitors by providing its customers with the better experience. In order to do this, the Cupertino-based company just purchased an Artificial Intelligence startup. Theoretically, the company will help Apple develop its pervasive computing capabilities.
According to Bloomberg, pervasive computing is when a software is able to make suggestions to a user on what might interest them. In other words, the suggestions that arise at the end of a book, movie, music video or article..
The company that Apple, Inc. purchased is called Turi, Inc. in a deal that was rumored to have cost around $200 million. Turi specializes in creating and managing different types of software, which, in turn, rely on a type of Artificial Intelligence, called machine learning.
Reportedly, it also allows companies to create recommendation engines and analyze customer preferences or usage patterns. It is estimated that Apple will use this development, as well as the purchase of Turi, in order to further develop its virtual assistant offering, Suri.
However, Apple is keeping hush about its specific plans. One of it statements said, "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans."
It is true that Apple has been purchasing smaller companies recently. What is interesting, as pointed out by Business Insider, is that the purchases have centered on artificial intelligence for the most part. Recent purchases include Perceptio, VocalIQ, Faceshift and Emotient. Perceptio and VocalIQ were purchased to specifically enhance Siri. Perceptio focused on helping A.I. systems on devices, without providing a large amount of personal data. On the other hand, VocalIQ centered on developing virtual assistants engage in better conversations with users. Emotient specializes on using A.I. to recognize facial expressions.
Tim Cook shared that "We have focused our A.I. efforts on the features that best enhance the customer experience." However, Cook also confirmed that the company is using machine learning in other products and services as well.
