Apple’s Slow Progress in AI – A Cause for Concern?
Despite holding an internal event focused on AI and language models, Apple’s Siri assistant is lagging behind competitors.
Last month, Apple held an internal event to focus on AI and large language models. According to a report from The New York Times, teams, including those working on Siri, are regularly testing “language-generating concepts.” Despite this, Apple’s AI assistant Siri continues to lag behind its competitors in terms of functionality.
For a considerable period, users have expressed dissatisfaction with Siri’s inability to comprehend queries. The same issue plagues other voice assistants, including Alexa and Google Assistant. Interestingly, these assistants can struggle to understand the diverse accents and phonetics of individuals residing in different regions, despite speaking the same language.
According to John Burke, a former Apple engineer who contributed to Siri’s development, the assistant’s sluggish evolution can be attributed to cumbersome code, which complicates even the most straightforward feature updates. Burke also revealed that Siri’s extensive word database posed a challenge for engineers looking to introduce new features or phrases, as it necessitated the rebuilding of the entire database, a process that could take up to six weeks.
Apple’s Lack of Chatbot
While other tech giants like Microsoft, Google, and OpenAI are making waves with their language models and chatbots, Apple’s Siri assistant is falling behind. Apple has maintained a relatively low profile regarding its AI endeavors. However, it is expected that Apple will apply advances in language models to areas like art and creation where it has long prided itself as an ally.
Apple’s AI Features
AI-powered features have been incorporated into Apple’s products for some time, such as improved keyboard suggestions, photography processing, Face ID mask unlocks, background object separation across the system, handwashing, and crash detection on the Apple Watch. The most recent addition is the karaoke feature on Apple Music. Despite this, none of these characteristics are as prominent as chatbots.
Apple’s Future in AI
In January, Apple launched a program offering authors AI-powered narration services to turn their books into audiobooks, indicating that it is already thinking about use cases for generative AI. We may hear more about the company’s efforts in these areas at the Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in a few months.
Conclusion
Apple may be behind in the AI and chatbot race, but its progress in AI-powered features for photography and other areas is commendable. It is expected that Apple will soon catch up with its competitors and offer more chatbot-based features in the future.
