Analysis:Appleinthefaceofartificialintelligencecanbeself-evolutionorrevolution?In2011,Appleco-founderSteveJobs(SteveJobs)announcedtheiPhonelaunchedvoiceassistantSiri,ApplebecamethefirsttoArtificialIntelligence(AI)onthenumberofMillionsofconsumersinthepocketofthecompany.However,eightyearslater,thetechnologygiantisstillstrugglinginthefieldofartificialintelligence.AnalystssaythatApple’sabilitytocreategreatartificialintelligenceproductsforApple’sdevelopmentinthenextdecadeisessential,liketheiPhoneinthepast10yearstohelpApplemadesuchabrilliantachievement.ButthetechgiantfacesadauntingchallengebecausetheessenceofartificialintelligenceispushingAppleintoits‘comfortzone’initssleekdesignhardwareandservicespace.Artificialintelligenceprogramsrequiredatacollectionandin-depthmining,butthisisstrictlyadheredtoApple’sprivacypolicyanditslocationdoesnotcollectuserinformation.Inaddition,Apple’slong-standingpreferencefor1thecompanyhasbecomelesspopularintheeyesofpotentialstaremployees.ThesenewemployeesarefromthetopcomputersciencedepartmentsintheUnitedStates,whoareattractedbycompaniesthatarewillingtopublishtheirresearchresults.‘ArtificialintelligenceisnotApple’sDNA,’saidSteveMunster,aventurecapitalistandAppleanalyst.‘Theyunderstandthateverycompanywillbecomeanartificialintelligencecompanyinthefuture,buttheyareintheAdifficultsituation.Inthe2017annualdeveloperconference,Appleistryingtobuild‘AIengine’image.ItlaunchedanewindependentsmartspeakerHomePod,andvigorouslypromotetheAppleproductofartificialintelligenceapplications.Duringthetwoandahalfhoursofdemonstration,Appleexecutivesrepeatedthe‘machinelearning’termwithabout6,000developerspresent.Theso-called‘machinelearning’isalsoabranchofartificialintelligence,itdescribesaveryhigh-speed,complexcomputerdataanalysisandstatisticalmodelingform.Siricannowusemachinelearningtopredictmorningcommutertime,orbrowsetravelnewson2Apple’sSafaribrowser,andthensuggestsuggestionssuchasbookingahotelroom.Inaddition,Siricanusethemachinetolearntotalktoyou,andthroughthepriceof$349homeautomationdeviceHomePodtohelpyouorganizemusic.Itwillautomaticallyorganizeyourphotosintoalbums,suchas‘2Anniversary’albums,andyoudonotneedtoprovideanyinformationaboutthebackgroundofthephoto.Applehasevenintroducedanewsoftwaretoolkit,CoreML,thatcanhandlethevastamountofdatacollectedinmachinelearningapplicationsfaster.(Aexecutivesridicule,AppleartificialintelligenceprocessorspeedissixtimesthatofGoogle).ButwhileAppleannouncedthenews,othertechnologycompanieshavereleasedsimilarinnovationsandhaveinvestedbillionsofdollarsintheboomingartificialintelligencearmsrace.Manycompaniesbetonartificialintelligence,suchasintelligentsoftwarethatcanbeusedtochatwithpeoplelikeyouinthefuture,ortoidentifyreal-worldobjectsincomputervision,whichcanbeusedtosupportfull-functionunmannedvehicles.ForApple,itishardtogetaheadofthefield,andin3thisarea,thecoreofApple’ssecrecyculturehasalsobeencut.‘ThisisamajorshiftforApple,’saidDanielGross,anAppleexecutivewhospecializesinartificialintelligenceresearch.‘Apple’sfocusisoncreatinggreatproductsratherthanpublishingpapers.’10yearsafterthelaunchoftheiPhone,AppleislookingforanothercanreplacetheiPhone’sheavyproduct.IPhonesalestopromoteAppletobecometheworld’shighestmarketvalueofthecompany,butiPhonesalesstillaccountformorethanhalfofApple’stotalrevenue,2016totalrevenueof215...