Amazon.com hired away artificial intelligence startup Adept’s co-founders and some of its team in a move that echoes one by rival Microsoft, as it seeks to battle a perception that it is playing catch-up in AI. The move is similar to one by Microsoft, which in March hired away much of Inflection AI’s leadership and employees and agreed to pay a roughly $650 million licensing fee. Adept said it would continue to operate independently of Amazon. Amazon will pay Adept a licensing fee to use some of its technology, which helps automate business functions. Is the future in AI to control humanity ?