Apple’s AI assistant Siri is set for a major makeover at WWDC, according to online reports. Cupertino is said to be prepping a bunch of “superpowers” fuelled by Generative AI, as it rushes to catch up with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and rivals like Google, though being Apple, you can expect it do it with privacy at its core.
It is no secret that Siri hasn’t exactly been the “smart” assistant that iPhone users expect compared to other assistants from Google and even Amazon. Apple’s strict privacy rules keep data locked on your device, limiting the AI’s learning potential. But the company seems to have cracked the code (via news aggregator service yeux1122) on integrating a powerful large language model called Ajax into Siri. In theory, this means, it could soon be possible to run powerful AI models, like the ones behind ChatGPT, right on your iPhone.
Apple has been reported to be sharing AI tech, like the open-source Ferret model, which can juggle different types of data like OpenAI’s GPT-4 even as tools like MLX for MacBooks powered by its homegrown silicon, are paving the way for AI tools to work much more seamlessly on them. Rumours even suggest upgraded iPhone microphones are in the works that could greatly enhance Siri’s hearing abilities while on-device breakthroughs such as AI models being able to tap into your iPhone’s flash memory, right where your apps and data are stored, could give entail zippy fast responses.
Apple’s been quiet on major Siri changes for a while. But with ChatGPT showing off its conversational skills and taking over the internet by storm, pressure’s on. Amazon’s Alexa is potentially getting an AI makeover this year, and Google’s Bard has been confirmed to arrive on its Assistant.
But while competitors depend on data from the cloud, Apple’s still committed to keeping it on the device locally. That means the upgraded Siri should stick to the script, too, while Apple’s famous inter-connectivity chops could mean you would be able to do this across your iPhone, MacBook, and iPad. More details are expected at WWDC in June.
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