Apple Hires Google’s Chief of Search & Artificial Intelligence

Apple has recently hired Google’s chief of search and artificial intelligence, John Giannandrea.

The company has hired Mr Giannandrea in a bid to catch up with the artificial intelligence technology progress of its rivals.

Apple announced last week that Mr Giannandrea will run Apple’s ‘machine learning and A.I. strategy,’ and will become one of 16 executives who will report to the company’s chief executive, Timothy D. Cook.

Mr Cook recently stated in an email to staff members: “John shares our commitment to privacy and our thoughtful approach as we make computers even smarter and more personal.”

Artificial intelligence has become a crucial in enabling companies to complete complex tasks and analyse data. Common applications include identifying people in images and understanding voice commands.

Mr Giannandrea has previously helped the push to A.I. in Google’s products, including Gmail, internet search and its digital assistant, Google Assistant.

He joined Google when it purchased Metaweb, in 2010. There he served as the Chief Technology Officer, when A.I. research became more important inside Google.

Apple has also previously made other high-profile hires, including the Carnegie Mellon professor Russ Salakhutdinov, who helps oversee the Google Brain lab.

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