Natural language processing (NLP) is one of the most important frontiers in software. The basic idea—how to consume and generate human language effectively—has been an ongoing effort since the dawn of ...

It wasn’t too long ago that talking to a computer and having it not only understand, but speak back, was confined to the realm of science fiction, like that of the shipboard computers of Star Trek.

Natural-language-processing applications are ubiquitous: Alexa can set a reminder if you ask; Google Translate can make emails readable across languages; Watson outplays world Jeopardy champions; ...