Siri and AI Renewal: Apple is seeking to renew its virtual assistant Siri by equipping it with a range of advanced AI features,
allowing users to control individual app functions with their voice, according to people familiar with the matter.
According to those who requested anonymity because the initiative is not public,
the new system will allow Siri to control all app features for the first time.
They indicated that this change requires updating Siri’s core system using large language models
a key technology behind generative AI tools—and will be one of the highlights of Apple’s renewed push towards adopting AI tools.
Content
Intensifying Talks with OpenAI
New AI Features
Integrating AI into Siri
Apple’s Response to Decline
AI Strategy
Future Plans
Protecting Privacy and Data
Reviving Siri and New Features
Intensifying Talks with OpenAI
Apple is intensifying its talks with OpenAI to integrate AI into the iPhone.
This update is just one part of the company’s larger AI strategy, which will be unveiled during the Worldwide Developers Conference on June 10.
Apple is preparing several features, including transcribing and summarizing voice memos,
quick summaries for websites and notifications, automated message responses, advanced photo editing, and AI-generated emojis.
New AI Features
In the beta version, the devices will process more basic AI tasks, while cloud computing will handle the more advanced capabilities.
The company has also made a deal with OpenAI to integrate the startup’s chatbot and other technologies into iOS,
and it is still in talks with Alphabet, Google’s parent company, about using its Gemini program in the future.
Integrating AI into Siri
Siri will be a major focus at the Worldwide Developers Conference.
The new system will allow the assistant to control and navigate the iPhone or iPad more accurately.
This includes the ability to open individual documents, move a note to another folder, send an email,
delete it, open a specific post in Apple News, send a web link via email, or even ask the device for a summary of a particular article.
Apple’s Response to Decline
A representative for Apple, headquartered in Cupertino, California, declined to comment.
Apple is launching a new AI-enhanced iPad Pro to revive its declining sales.
Siri mostly handles broader commands like playing music playlists, searching for information, or controlling smart home devices.
AI Strategy
The new system will go further by using AI to analyze what people do on their devices and enable features controlled by Siri automatically.
This will be limited to Apple’s apps, as the company plans to support hundreds of commands.
Future Plans
The new Siri system will initially handle one command at a time,
but Apple plans to allow users to give a set of commands together.
For example, they could ask Siri to summarize a recorded meeting and then send it to a colleague in one request.
Or, theoretically, they could ask the iPhone to crop a photo and then email it to a friend.
Protecting Privacy and Data
This has raised some privacy concerns. Although on-device tasks will not share personal information,
the cloud-based approach will require transferring some user data to remote servers.
Bloomberg reported earlier this month that this information will be protected through
what’s called the Secure Enclave in Apple’s advanced Mac chips that power data centers.
Apple will try to reassure customers that their data is safe by creating an “intelligence report” explaining how information is secured.
The iPhone manufacturer will not build customer profiles, something Google and Meta Platforms have been criticized for doing.
Reviving Siri and New Features
With the upgrade of the Siri system, Apple aims to revive a leading product that has fallen behind competitors’ services.
Apple first launched Siri in 2011, giving it an edge in voice and AI interfaces.
However, Apple quickly lost this lead to Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant.
Two years ago, it stumbled again with the emergence of generative AI chatbots.
Apple is now betting that the new AI features for iPhones, iPads, and Macs,
along with Siri improvements, will encourage users to update their devices.
Many AI capabilities will require the iPhone 15 Pro or something newer.
Meanwhile, Macs and iPads will need at least the M1 chip.
Siri and AI Renewal
