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Apple Brings in New Exec to 'Fix' Siri and Apple Intelligence
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I do, but to be honest I gave up using it except for setting timers a while ago.
How abpout ****. I am sure many users have said that when this program fails for the up tenth time in one sitting..Apple could rename it Iris
Rearranging the deck chairs?
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I can’t think of a reason to use a “virtual assistant” beyond those tasks in the first place 🤷♂️
I really don’t understand people clamoring for *something* vaguely like it’s going to a change their lives. What exactly is one to do with Siri or any other assistant.
Keep in mind that Siri is not intended to write your emails or essays, so beyond that what are people looking for that they need to compare it to things like chatGPT?
It’s apple who apparently wants to make a bigger deal of Siri. I can’t be disappointed, I expect nothing more of siri than what it currently does.
I needed to set a count down timer for the coffee brewing. I my iPhone on the counter in front of me and talked into my Apple Watch. Both set timers at different times so they were not in synch.
Wish there was an auto switch that would turn off Siri when I get in the car. I speak into my Watch to have Siri text my wife a dedicated message like "passing grocery store now" and that works. I have both Siri and AI disabled when driving unless I need to use Apple Maps.
The improved camera in my iPhone 16 Pro Max, better battery life and change of government this year prompted me to upgrade while the current prices were in effect and there was stock in hand.
As a family, most all of our Apple computer stuff was upgraded to the M4 family of processors as future is more than uncertain. Even have a maxed out M4 Pro mini as a backup for the fully optioned M1 Ultra Mac Studio.
Siri operation could be the least of our concerns. The Iot Wifi and all the wifi devices in the house means a truly private chat is in the middle of a field under a tree with a combine running 10 feet away and a sheelt hanging down to hide your face and lips from Big Brother....
Siri will developed along the guidelines set down by the currentgovernment for proper monitoring. Do not kid yoyrself.
Wish there was an auto switch that would turn off Siri when I get in the car. I speak into my Watch to have Siri text my wife a dedicated message like "passing grocery store now" and that works. I have both Siri and AI disabled when driving unless I need to use Apple Maps.
The improved camera in my iPhone 16 Pro Max, better battery life and change of government this year prompted me to upgrade while the current prices were in effect and there was stock in hand.
As a family, most all of our Apple computer stuff was upgraded to the M4 family of processors as future is more than uncertain. Even have a maxed out M4 Pro mini as a backup for the fully optioned M1 Ultra Mac Studio.
Siri operation could be the least of our concerns. The Iot Wifi and all the wifi devices in the house means a truly private chat is in the middle of a field under a tree with a combine running 10 feet away and a sheelt hanging down to hide your face and lips from Big Brother....
Siri will developed along the guidelines set down by the currentgovernment for proper monitoring. Do not kid yoyrself.
This is the Knowledge Navigator concept video Apple made almost 4 decades ago when they were thinking about how people would interact with their devices. I think this is what people want. It's amazing how close, yet how far, we are
“Meet Iris.Apple could rename it Iris
Siri redesigned from back to front.”
This move feels a bit like the old "just one more lane will finally solve the traffic"
(it never does, as the concept is broken -- just like Siri)
(it never does, as the concept is broken -- just like Siri)
Oh I’ve always loved this concept.
But let’s be crystal clear, the current technology being hawked as AI is NOT ever going to be capable of this. Training with a million times the compute power would not get us to this, because LLMs (what everyone is calling AI) core logic has nothing to do with knowledge or understanding topics.
The problem is that on the front end, it’s close enough that human psychology tells us there is understanding there, but that is us anthropomorphizing a machine. We’re dealing with shiny new versions of ELIZA from the 70’s, with tech and VC conmen setting us up for a massive crash.
ELIZA - Wikipedia
I really don’t care if Siri can answer who won the Super Bowl in a given year. I would like it if the voice were more consistent, and could pronounce my wife’s normal culturally American name. When I add pronunciation in Contacts, Siri frequently ignores it, but not every time….
Reading about how Siri was constructed and what it took/takes to do any updates to this point they absolutely need to start over and jettison their technical debt. Whatever costs they incur that means they no longer are strapped with Siri is worth it. Also: rename it. If they could weather the butterfly keyboard years and the Mac Pro embarrassment they can weather a Siri divorce. Hell, lean into it and make jokes like when Steve buried Mac OS 9.
Does a new name really matter ? People is accustomed to Siri… it doesn’t make sense
Exactly. Apple doesn’t really care about a bunch of vocal complainers on MR. Coming on this forum you’ll be under the impression everything Apple makes is a mess, which is far far far from reality. As a voice assistant Siri can be improved, but it is not the disaster some are describing (and there are many comparisons online ).
Apple Intelligence has been just released, and not even fully. Not available in EU for a couple other months, for example. It needs time to be improved and refined.
All this “need” for AI is scary to me, and I agree with your vision here. AI is a tool, and it should be used as such.
Whoever is working at some level can absolutely confirm that: adding Human Resources to a task works to a point. After that point it is almost detrimental to the task. A good manager fix the workflow and assign the right amount of resources.
This is last 12 months figures
Wat are you talking about ? Since the beginning of the year Apple still is up.
Do you have any data showing that ? What we actually know is Apple user base is quite loyal to the ecosystem. DO not mix up Apple user base with MR’s user base.
What most of the complainers here don’t understand is Apple has limitations in improving Siri. And they can summarized in a single word: privacy.
People cannot expect Siri to be Alexa, if they don’t want Apple to be Amazon.
Try ask ChatGPT to turn off your HomePod or set an alarm on your calendar…
Dude I literally JUST TRIED YOUR EXAMPLE ABOVE, and Siri correctly recognized the command, put a reminder in one hour saying “pick out a shirt for tomorrow”.
Since MY Siri cannot be different from your, I think the problem here is the user, not Siri…
Naturally I have no idea how Apple works internally, but if it's anything like where I work, then I wish this guy all the best.
In my workplace, and I'm certain it's the same for millions of others, there are a VERY few key people near or at the top in positions that will simply block or dismiss things, and things will never change whilst those people at there in these positions.
We have bought in countless managers and COO's, Quality managers and others over decades, and they start with new, dynamic, fresh ideas of how they are going to make needed changes.
But again and again, every single one of them hits up against those at/near the top that will block their goals.
The old "Leopard will never change its spots" saying.
If Apple has people high up with deep rooted fundamental viewpoints on things, you are never going to change things.
Unless these people leave, retire, pass-on, you are going to be stuck with them.
Jony Ive is one classic example of a blockage in the company, and it was not until he finally got out the way did we start to see things change in certain areas.
In my workplace, and I'm certain it's the same for millions of others, there are a VERY few key people near or at the top in positions that will simply block or dismiss things, and things will never change whilst those people at there in these positions.
We have bought in countless managers and COO's, Quality managers and others over decades, and they start with new, dynamic, fresh ideas of how they are going to make needed changes.
But again and again, every single one of them hits up against those at/near the top that will block their goals.
The old "Leopard will never change its spots" saying.
If Apple has people high up with deep rooted fundamental viewpoints on things, you are never going to change things.
Unless these people leave, retire, pass-on, you are going to be stuck with them.
Jony Ive is one classic example of a blockage in the company, and it was not until he finally got out the way did we start to see things change in certain areas.
Gee, thanks for calling me an idiot. Should I call you one too? Despite your accusations otherwise, I know exactly what I said, and exactly what Siri answered.
That example was from a some weeks ago. They constantly make changes to the backend that processes requests. Sometimes things get fixed. Sometimes things get broken. Sometimes things that got broken get fixed again. Perhaps you aren't aware of this? Now, wanna rethink your accusation?
It ties into what I was saying about it being frustrating that there's no detailed documentation on what Siri can understand.
To the issue of things getting broken/fixed:
- For quite some time, I've been in the habit of asking a HomePod mini, "Hey Siri, play Accidental Tech Podcast" (sometimes "resume playing ..." rather than "play ..."). And for years this has worked, except for one period of several weeks where Siri would respond with "I can't find any podcast called Accidental Tech". It had briefly gotten a rule that said "oh, podcast, I know what that is, so I can strip out that word". Then they realized it caused a problem, and it got fixed.
- Similarly, one of the lights in my living room is named "lampshade" (eh, it's the only Hue bulb in a standalone lamp with a traditional lampshade on it in the house, and the throwaway name stuck). From time to time, I say "hey Siri, set my lampshade to aqua", to change the color of this lamp (in some seating positions it reflects off the TV screen, and changing it to aqua/light-blue cuts down the distraction considerably). And, again, this has always worked, except for a period of time where Siri got "clever" again, and decided that this meant I wanted to change the "shade" of all my lamps to aqua (first, that's not a shade, that's a hue or color, and second, the in-home device names should always take precedence over parsing possibilities). And then, a few weeks later, it all went back to working properly again, with that command changing just the single light.
Is Apple trying to make a bigger deal of Siri? Or is it users who want to compare Siri to Alexa or Google's assistant, Cuthbert, or whatever it is called, trying to hold Siri to the same standard as a search bot and a sales bot? Honestly, I never viewed Siri as a competitor or Alexa or Google Assistant. I viewed those other products as ways for Amazon and Google to get a foothold in a person's residence.
Users aren’t the one on stage promising the moon and the stars during apple’s presentations. Well, technically I guess Tim and the whole bunch use apple products, thus making them users, but you get my point.
I’d rather they improve Siri than integrate everything with ChatGPT. I know it sounds daft because it’s obviously loads better, but I’d rather stick with apple’s own version than have a third party one on my phone
Apple is making an internal staffing change that it hopes will improve Siri and its artificial intelligence offerings, reports Bloomberg. Kim Vorrath, a 37-year Apple veteran, will join the AI team to work under AI chief John Giannandrea.
Vorrath is a program management VP, and has a reputation for meticulously managing software projects at Apple and ensuring employees meet deadlines. She has been described as Apple's "bug wrangler" and as a "powerful force" in the company. For the last few years, she has been working on Apple's AR/VR team developing the Vision Pro headset, but now she is being moved to AI.
The news comes just after a widely circulated story about Siri's failure to accurately provide basic knowledge about Super Bowl results. Siri has long been seen as inferior to other personal assistants, and in recent years, Siri has been unable to measure up to AI-based chatbots.
Apple is also addressing widespread criticism of its Apple Intelligence Notification summary feature, which has on several occasions mistakenly summarized news stories in a way that produced confusing false headlines. To fix the problem, Apple is temporarily removing Notification summaries for news and entertainment apps in iOS 18.3, an update expected next week.
Apple attempted to improve Siri by integrating OpenAI's ChatGPT into Apple Intelligence, but there are still serious problems with Siri. Additional Siri features are going to be coming in the near future as part of an iOS 18.4 update, and in iOS 19, Apple is rumored to be planning to introduce an LLM version of Siri that will be comparable to ChatGPT and Google's Gemini.
According to Bloomberg, Vorrath's move to the AI team is a signal that the company sees AI as more important than the Vision Pro. Vorrath is known for organizing engineering groups and redesigning workflows with new processes.
In a memo announcing the change, Giannandrea said that Apple plans to focus on improving the Siri infrastructure as well as Apple's in-house AI models.
Article Link: Apple Brings in New Exec to 'Fix' Siri and Apple Intelligence
