Re: "No one really understands why machine-learning code is so brittle"
The last link given in the Reg piece goes to a neat piece of research that used adversarial examples thrown at an image recognition application to conclude that it triggered on texture rather than shape.
This highlights the real problem...they do stuff but we don't know how and as a result have no idea how they will behave if the input goes off-piste. So, dressing a wolf in sheep's clothing actually works with the current technology.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
