The Apple Intelligence Disaster: How Apple Plans to Save Siri
In a recent report by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the struggles of Apple Intelligence, specifically Siri, have been laid bare. Since its initial features rolled out last year, the digital assistant has been a hot mess, and Apple is now working to rebuild it from the ground up. In this post, we’ll dive into the reasons behind Siri’s failures and explore Apple’s plans to revamp its AI-powered assistant.
Why Siri Has Been a Disaster
Gurman’s report highlights several reasons why Siri has been a disappointment. One major issue is the company’s previous approach of merging the assistant with the existing Siri, which hasn’t worked as intended. Apple’s attempt to integrate generative AI with the old Siri has resulted in a lackluster experience. Gurman describes the situation as a “total overhaul” of Siri, rather than just trying to make generative AI work in concert with the old assistant.
The Plan to Save Siri
So, what’s Apple’s plan to save Siri? According to Gurman, the company is working on a new architecture that will “entirely build on an LLM-based engine.” This means a total rebuild of Siri, rather than just patching up the existing system. The goal is to make the assistant “more believably conversational and better at synthesizing information.”
Another key aspect of Apple’s plan is leveraging iPhones and differential privacy to improve its synthesized data. This involves comparing fake training data with language from iPhone users’ emails, but doing so on-device and sending only the synthesized data back to Apple for AI training. This approach aims to improve Siri’s ability to understand and respond to user queries.
The Future of Siri
Gurman’s report also touches on Apple’s plans to let the LLM version of Siri loose on the web, allowing it to “grab and synthesize data from multiple sources.” This could potentially turn Siri into an AI-powered web search tool, similar to Perplexity, a company Apple has approached about partnering for AI search in Safari.
The Giannandrea Factor
The report also mentions John Giannandrea, Apple’s former AI chief, who has been taken off of product development, Siri, and robotics projects. Giannandrea is said to be planning to stick around, “relieved Siri is now someone else’s problem.” This development raises questions about the future of Apple’s AI research and engineering efforts.
Actionable Insights
So, what can we take away from this report? Firstly, Apple is serious about revamping Siri and is willing to invest significant resources into rebuilding the assistant from the ground up. Secondly, the company is exploring innovative approaches to improve Siri’s performance, such as leveraging iPhones and differential privacy. Finally, the future of Siri is uncertain, and it remains to be seen how the company will execute its plans.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Apple’s struggles with Siri are well-documented, and the company is now working to rebuild the digital assistant from the ground up. With a new architecture, improved data synthesis, and a potential shift towards AI-powered web search, the future of Siri looks promising. However, the outcome is far from certain, and it will be interesting to see how Apple executes its plans and addresses the challenges it faces.