Apple’s next challenge is to make Siri smarter as it plays catch-up with rivals’ artificial intelligence
iPhone-maker lags in AI race partly because of its reluctance to pry into user’s personal information, experts say.
Apple’s Siri made a big splash when the wisecracking digital assistant debuted on the iPhone five years ago. But as other tech giants jockey to build intelligent “chat bots” and voice-controlled home systems capable of more challenging artificial-intelligence (AI) feats, Siri at times no longer seems cutting edge.
On Monday, Apple is expected to demonstrate an upgrade to Siri’s smarts as it kicks off its annual software conference. It is a potentially momentous time for the company; sales of its flagship iPhone are slowing, and AI is emerging as a key tech battleground. Apple, Google, Facebook and others are racing to create digital services that consumers will find indispensable for shopping, chatting, controlling other appliances and simply getting through their daily lives.
And while Siri has gained new abilities over the years, some experts believe Apple still lags in the AI race, hindered in part by its unwillingness to pry too deeply into your personal information.
“Google Now has kind of eaten their lunch,” said Chris Monberg, co-founder of Boomtrain, a start-up that makes artificial intelligence software used by online retailers. Monberg argues that Google’s proactive digital assistant provides more useful reminders, recommendations and tips on local weather or traffic, largely because it reads his email and other data from his Android phone and crunches it with sophisticated algorithms on Google’s powerful servers.
Amazon’s Echo home speaker likewise has its fans; it recognises informal voice commands and can order flowers, pizza or a ride to the airport. Similarly, many analysts believe the future lies in plans by Facebook, Google and Microsoft to incorporate intelligent “bots” into the voice-and text-messaging services that people use to chat with their friends.