Apple to dramatically overhaul Siri virtual assistant with AI, allowing voice control of individual app functions

Apple is planning to dramatically overhaul its Siri virtual assistant with more advanced AI, a move that will let users control individual app functions with their voice, Bloomberg News reports citing “people with knowledge of the matter.” The result of the company’s scramble to catch up to rivals in AI, and generative AI (GenAI) in particular, is expected to be unveiled at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 10th.
Mark Gurman for Bloomberg News:
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The new system will allow Siri to take command of all the features within apps for the first time, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the initiative isn’t public. That change required a revamp of Siri’s underlying software using large language models — a core technology behind generative AI — and will be one of the highlights of Apple’s renewed push into AI, they said…
As part of the rollout, more basic AI tasks will be processed on devices themselves, while more advanced capabilities will be handled via cloud computing. The company also has been forging a deal with OpenAI to integrate the startup’s chatbot and other technology into the iOS operating system, and it remains in talks with Google parent Alphabet Inc. to use its Gemini software in the future. Apple software boss Craig Federighi has told his teams to develop as many new AI features as possible for this year’s operating system updates…
With the Siri upgrade, Apple is looking to reinvigorate a pioneering product that fell behind competitors’ services. The company first launched Siri in 2011, giving it a head start in voice-based interfaces and AI. But Apple soon lost that lead to Amazon.com Inc.’s Alexa and the Google Assistant. Then it was caught flat-footed again when generative AI chatbots emerged two years ago.

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MacDailyNews Take: We’ve heard tale of a revamped Siri that actually works so many times, we’ll believe it when we use it and it finally works reliably, thanks. That Apple blithely neglected Siri for a decade and a half, after Steve Jobs positioned the company with such an early lead in virtual assistants, is criminal mismanagement regardless.
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