Walt Mossberg Calls Siri 'Too Limited and Unreliable' to Compete in 'Coming AI Wars'

[0958400]

Can someone please point out what standout features iPhones have compared to Android phones at this point(please don't talk about the Note 7 exploding), and why I should not turn to the dark side(Android)?

I hear you and I'm with you. The answer to your question is unfortunately a monetary one: Apple's ecosystem.
If you own an Apple watch, use iCloud, bought movies for the Apple TV, maybe bought music, one is so stuck in this system (which of course was intentional) that one might think twice to change the systems, knowing all to well that changes will result in some friction and losses.
I do love a lot of things about Apple, many of them are reminiscences, but some are still valuable and working. There's a part that does not want to give up the hope that Apple is the better company. So far I trust them with my data. But yes, I've become increasingly annoyed and frustrated by a lot of things they do.
Apparently they have an "Apple university" where they study Steve's choices. I don't think they understood him: clarity, minimalism, focus and striving for excellence were not just words, he pushed the boundaries. Here they focus on a constant income stream, while that is legitimate and I'd be happy to oblige, the main focus of the company seems to have shifted towards that, i.e. buggy OS, iOS rendering older devices useless, pushing updates harder than Microsoft, and simply the lovelessness towards the extra detail which has made them so great. Just adding stickers doesn't do the trick.

If Apple decides to go for the masses and wants to please the masses - it will lose, because the masses want average, blinking lights and theatre thunder - excellence is wanted by the pros and those they lose. In the long run, Apple may end up a good mainstream company.

Right now it loses its excellence and it hurts me, because I love Apple.

 

[duffman9000]

I think the pace of iOS development is the problem. We get a yearly release followed by an additional 6 months of bug fixes and optimization.

 

[dk001]

Works for me if I say "find Phillip Roth on Wikipedia." This is an issue with Siri only understanding if you frame it exactly right.

If you have to frame or word it just right that totally defeats the purpose.

 

[coldsweat]

In my case he is totally right about "people just gave up" to ask Siri more advanced questions, I just assume it wouldn't be able to answer that.

In a similar way that everybodys given up asking for a Macrumors giveaway that isn't limited to US residents!!

 

[itsamacthing]

Siri is so weak that i cannot even tell me how to reboot my computer in safe mode

 

[Luc3000]

I've pretty much given up on SIRI. I use her to set the timer when I'm cooking or set a reminder but getting information from her is a joke. I will ask the same question to Google now and immediately get a proper response. And don't get me going on Maps!!

 

[charlituna]

I find them all to be "too limited and unreliable". Also, to try and say they use AI is laughable.

AI is just algorithms and databases so yes they all use AI. Albeit the AI is baby level. Like newborn level. Popped out yesterday, sleeps 23 hours, nasty yellow poop stage. It will be years still before it gets up to the stuff we can imagine for tv shows and movies.

What I find amusing is that there was a time that Walt was the biggest Apple fanboi ever. Now its like folks have questioned his integrity so to prove he's not biased, he talks smack about Apple every chance he can

 

[atechfan]

To be fair, you need to take into account that Siri is available on the following languages: Arabic, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai and Turkish. Google Now is only available in English.

Apple has added languages every year and it must be a lot of work considering some of these languages have a very different structure and pronunciation compared to English. I am Finnish and only started using Siri a year ago when they added Finnish, because it felt weird talking a foreign language to your phone. Besides it couldn't understand local street names and contact names. Siri still seems to be even more limited in Finnish than in English, but having such a broad language support makes it accessible to much bigger user base than Google Now. For these people a limited and dumb Siri is better than no siri at all.

You are a liar.

I am an Indonesian, and I speak to Google now in both English and Bahasa Indonesia.
Google Now perfectly understands my Bahasa and my heavily accented English, 99.99% of all time.

 

[MACchica]

The Verge's Walt Mossberg today wrote a critical article on Apple's Siri personal assistant, exploring the service's shortcomings, mistakes, and inability to answer some simple questions that competing products have no problem with.

Entitled, "Why does Siri seem so dumb?", Mossberg's article, covers several questions Siri couldn't answer, ranging from queries about political candidates to the date of the World Series to the weather in Crete. In each instance, Siri failed to provide the desired information, while Google Now, Google's Siri competitor, was able to answer every single question correctly.According to Mossberg, Apple has fixed many of the above Siri shortcomings thanks to his feedback, and has "stressed" to him that the company is "constantly improving Siri." Apple says it focuses more on tasks like placing phone calls, sending texts, and finding places rather than "long tail" questions, which aren't as popular with iPhone and iPad users. Mossberg speculates that such questions aren't popular anymore because people "just give up" on asking Siri these types of things due to failed responses.

Mossberg also outlines several failures with Siri's cloud-based services, from searching through iMessages to locating photos to finding calendar appointments, drawing the conclusion that Apple has "wasted its lead" with Siri, which is now forced to compete with services from Google, Amazon, and Microsoft. Mossberg believes that Siri "seems stagnant" and is "too limited and unreliable" compared to other services.

Though it may not seem like it, Apple has been putting a lot of effort into improving Siri. Back in August, Apple executives Eddy Cue, Craig Federighi, and Phil Schiller explained that machine learning techniques have cut Siri's error rate by a factor of two, improving understanding. Since 2014, Siri and other on-device features, like the QuickType keyboard, Spotlight, autocorrect, Maps, and more, have been powered by a neural net-based system that is able to provide users with more personalized responses and actions.

Recent rumors suggest Apple aiming to improve Siri's functionality even further in an effort to build the personal assistant into an Echo-like Smart home device that would do things like control smart home accessories. Apple is also said to be working on an "Invisible Hand" initiative that would allow users to fully control their devices through a Siri command, something that could debut within three years.

Mossberg's full article on Siri, which is well worth reading, can be accessed over at The Verge.

Article Link: Walt Mossberg Calls Siri 'Too Limited and Unreliable' to Compete in 'Coming AI Wars'

[doublepost=1476819045][/doublepost]Just downloaded Sierra...Apple Support didn't TELL me I'd lose Parallels..not to mention that Siri is close to USELESS..more aggravation than anything. It continues to ask for my personal location information..who installed this..NSA?
[doublepost=1476819134][/doublepost]

[doublepost=1476819045][/doublepost]Just downloaded Sierra...Apple Support didn't TELL me I'd lose Parallels..not to mention that Siri is close to USELESS..more aggravation than anything. It continues to ask for my personal location information..who installed this..NSA?

This is being posted on October 18, 2016.

 

[Surf Monkey]

If you have to frame or word it just right that totally defeats the purpose.

That was the point.

 

[ErikGrim]

[doublepost=1476819045][/doublepost]Just downloaded Sierra...Apple Support didn't TELL me I'd lose Parallels...

If you don't know by now that Parallels has a built in kill switch to force you to upgrade each year I don't know what to tell you.

 

[dgdosen]

Too Limited and Unreliable?

Poor Siri, the Windows Phone of Cloud AI...

 

[AsherN]

Dear oh dear.

127 almost universally negative comments about Siri; and yet, Siri is supposed to be the leading feature of iOS 10 and macOS Sierra! This is surely a damning indictment of both Siri and the latest operating systems.

I worry for the long-term future of Apple when their software is so clearly floundering. Waze (owned by Google) trounces Apple Maps in the UK, much as I detest using something by Google. Amazon trumps the iTunes Store for speed, ease of use and slickness. When one sees the competition sailing past Apple on such fundamental apps, one ponders whether it might be wise to switch other commonly used apps as well.

I come from a Nexus 5. Compared to that, Siri blows. And the app store could be so much more. On the Nexus, I can sit at my computer and go to play.google.com. Search the store using a real keyboard and a real display. Whern I find what I want, just click on send to my device.

Most of what I use a voice assistant is not gathered information. In a lot of cases it's simple handsfree navigation. "OK Google, navigate to 123 main street" works flawlessly, everytime. Siri can't even take me home.. Heck, most of the time, it won't even open the map.

 

[Sedulous]

I come from a Nexus 5. Compared to that, Siri blows. And the app store could be so much more. On the Nexus, I can sit at my computer and go to play.google.com. Search the store using a real keyboard and a real display. Whern I find what I want, just click on send to my device.

Most of what I use a voice assistant is not gathered information. In a lot of cases it's simple handsfree navigation. "OK Google, navigate to 123 main street" works flawlessly, everytime. Siri can't even take me home.. Heck, most of the time, it won't even open the map.

Not saying you are wrong but why sit at your computer to download an app to your device? I honestly do not use Siri frequently but has worked flawlessly for me for navigation (USA).

 

[AsherN]

I think most that have posted are missing the BIG picture and the reason why Siri is stuck in 2012 mode.

In order for AI to really be useful, user data must be collected. Yes bad, bad Google must cull your data to make Google Assistant work they way we want it in the future.

no, it doesn't. It's great when it does have that info to use as predictors. But saying "Hey Siri, where is the nearest gas station" does not require access to my personal information. It just needs to know where I am and search in an ever growing concentric circle. Bonus if it can figure out the direction I'm moving and not search behind me.
[doublepost=1481001264][/doublepost]Because sometimes, I just want to browse for apps. And I find the standard keyboard and large screen easier to do that. I can be in my office and my phone is charging on my night table. I'm browsing the internet and see a mention of a cool app. I was able to go to the play store from my computer and send the app to my phone.
[doublepost=1481001324][/doublepost]I'm finding that if I need voice command, the following 2 commands are the best combination:
"Hey Siri, open Google"
"OK Google..."

 

[shk718]

I come from a Nexus 5. Compared to that, Siri blows. And the app store could be so much more. On the Nexus, I can sit at my computer and go to play.google.com. Search the store using a real keyboard and a real display. Whern I find what I want, just click on send to my device.

Most of what I use a voice assistant is not gathered information. In a lot of cases it's simple handsfree navigation. "OK Google, navigate to 123 main street" works flawlessly, everytime. Siri can't even take me home.. Heck, most of the time, it won't even open the map.

I tell SIRI to take me home and it works every single time - not a single issue.

 

[Juicy Box]

I tell SIRI to take me home and it works every single time - not a single issue.

I have mixed feeling about Siri. When it works, it is like magic. The problem is that it only "just works" less than 50% of the time. Oh, if I am using Siri hands-free, it should not ask me to look at the phone for any reason imo.

I have a lot of specific example of things that Siri doesn't do right, but I will tell you the most common one I experience.

Me: Siri, call Kara Smith
Siri: You have 11 Smiths in your contacts, which Smith would you like to call? I could look at the phone and select, but I am driving.
Me: Kara Smith
Siri: I do not see Cara Smith in your contacts, do you mean Kara Smith? Siri pronounces Kara and Cara the same exact way.
Me: Yes.


I had this one happen the other day.
Me: Siri, call Kara Smith
Siri: You have 11 Smiths in your contacts, which Smith would you like to call?
Me: Kara Smith
Siri: I do not know what you mean by carrots.


I have never really cursed at any of my electronics before I started to use Siri. Now, sometimes I feel like I am competing against a Scorsese film for the most f-bombs when dealing with Siri.

 

[shk718]

I have mixed feeling about Siri. When it works, it is like magic. The problem is that it only "just works" less than 50% of the time. Oh, if I am using Siri hands-free, it should not ask me to look at the phone for any reason imo.

I have a lot of specific example of things that Siri doesn't do right, but I will tell you the most common one I experience.

Me: Siri, call Kara Smith
Siri: You have 11 Smiths in your contacts, which Smith would you like to call? I could look at the phone and select, but I am driving.
Me: Kara Smith
Siri: I do not see Cara Smith in your contacts, do you mean Kara Smith? Siri pronounces Kara and Cara the same exact way.
Me: Yes.


I had this one happen the other day.
Me: Siri, call Kara Smith
Siri: You have 11 Smiths in your contacts, which Smith would you like to call?
Me: Kara Smith
Siri: I do not know what you mean by carrots.


I have never really cursed at any of my electronics before I started to use Siri. Now, sometimes I feel like I am competing against a Scorsese film for the most f-bombs when dealing with Siri.

why don't you teach SIRI how to pronounce the name? you have 11 contacts named the same?

 

[Juicy Box]

why don't you teach SIRI how to pronounce the name? you have 11 contacts named the same?

Siri does* pronounce the name correctly and Siri says the name correctly. Siri sometimes understands the name Kara Smith, and calls it right away. Other times, Siri says that I do not have a "Cara" Smith in my contacts and asks if I meant "Kara" Smith. Not two different pronunciation, but two spellings.

It is inconsistent. And not, I do not have 11 contacts with the same name, but I do have 11 contacts with the last name of Smith.

This is one of many other examples I have of problems with Siri.

Other problems like taking me to a closed down gas station when I say "Give me directions to the closest gas station", and then telling me that it is the only gas station in the area, which was not true.

Hey Siri randomly going off, except when I need it, then it doesn't work.

Just a few more examples.

 

[1rottenapple]

I have mixed feeling about Siri. When it works, it is like magic. The problem is that it only "just works" less than 50% of the time. Oh, if I am using Siri hands-free, it should not ask me to look at the phone for any reason imo.

I have a lot of specific example of things that Siri doesn't do right, but I will tell you the most common one I experience.

Me: Siri, call Kara Smith
Siri: You have 11 Smiths in your contacts, which Smith would you like to call? I could look at the phone and select, but I am driving.
Me: Kara Smith
Siri: I do not see Cara Smith in your contacts, do you mean Kara Smith? Siri pronounces Kara and Cara the same exact way.
Me: Yes.


I had this one happen the other day.
Me: Siri, call Kara Smith
Siri: You have 11 Smiths in your contacts, which Smith would you like to call?
Me: Kara Smith
Siri: I do not know what you mean by carrots.


I have never really cursed at any of my electronics before I started to use Siri. Now, sometimes I feel like I am competing against a Scorsese film for the most f-bombs when dealing with Siri.

F-in Siri! I know each day, around the same time 7:25am on my way to work, I call my gf Nadine. Hey Siri, call Nadine. "For now on I will call you B". Wtfffffffffff

There's always a 30% chance it makes this mistake. Drives me insane.

 

[Juicy Box]

F-in Siri! I know each day, around the same time 7:25am on my way to work, I call my gf Nadine. Hey Siri, call Nadine. "For now on I will call you B". Wtfffffffffff

There's always a 30% chance it makes this mistake. Drives me insane.

I agree. Siri is a mess sometimes.

Another thing I find annoying is when I ask Siri to do something while I am driving. Then Siri directs me to look at my phone to pick something, or unlock the phone. This happens all the time on what I think are simple tasks. It basicly makes Siri useless.

I am driving, and can't look away to mess with my phone, that I why I ask Siri to complete the task.

 

[AsherN]

The lagging response is bad as well. "Hey Siri" and then look at the screen to see when it's ready.

 

[1rottenapple]

The lagging response is bad as well. "Hey Siri" and then look at the screen to see when it's ready.

Exactly the laggy response is rediculous. It should be able to process request that are common with out using the internet to send your request to the server. So irritating when I'm asking it to dial a contact and it has to use the internet connection to complete the response. Duck you Siri. Google can do commands without using the internet to pull up a contact and make a call. Common!!!