New Delhi, April 22 -- Will Apple return to its roots for inspiration to survive the age of artificial intelligence (AI)? This question arises from news of CEO succession at the US-based company. This September, the role of Tim Cook, aged 65, will be taken over by John Ternus, who is 50. Cook will stay on as executive chairman.

Since Ternus is Apple's boss of hardware engineering, many expect a big bet on chips plus a renewed focus on gadgets designed to "change the world." That's what Apple did under Steve Jobs, CEO till August 2011. Long before the iPhone gave much of humanity a digital appendage, Jobs had made the world sit up with a computer anybody could use. Such dramatic disruption is rare.

Under Cook, the firm's success story ha...