Artificial intelligence (AI) has been impacting not only human lives but also various industries. Its tools, like deep learning, can increasingly teach themselves how to perform complex tasks. Besides, self-driving cars are about to hit the streets, and diseases are being treated using AI technology.

Yet despite these impressive advances, one fundamental capability remains elusive: language. Systems like Siri, Amazon’s Alexa and IBM’s Watson can follow simple spoken or typed commands and answer basic questions, but they can’t hold a conversation and have no real understanding of the words they use. If artificial intelligence is to be truly transformative, this must change. Read More