Save soldier Siri with AI. And full speed ahead with artificial intelligence. In fact, AI will be the protagonist of the next ones two Apple events: the imminent presentation of the new iPads (but only a few hints, it seems) and then in June the event for developers, the World Wide Developer Conference (Wwdc for enthusiasts). With one objective above all: to ensure that Siri becomes the most intelligent and powerful among digital assistants thanks to a trident strategy: three levels and three different implementations of AI models present on the market or unpublished.
What the “rumors” say
While the latest indiscretions, the famous “rumors” leaking from California, on the event dedicated to iPads are relatively few, it seems however to be understood that in reality the new artificial intelligence Made in Cupertinoon which Tim Cook’s engineers have been working tirelessly for months will not be presented yet.
The stage (virtual, always with recorded and streamed events) of the developers’ conference was actually reserved for that. It is also logical that this is the case, because during the WWDC, few new hardware are usually presented and above all many new technological software innovations, starting with the new versions of the operating systems.
This strategy which favors technological innovations only in the event for developers serves to allow programmers to become familiar with the versions of iOS that will then be released the following September on iPhones, and the new versions of iPadOS, macOS and gradually all the others Apple operating systems that make the various Apple Watches, Apple TVs and other accessories “run”, from HomePods and HomePod minis to AirPods headphones, even those with dedicated chips and operating microsystems that are much more sophisticated than they may seem from the outside .
All Apple’s AI
In reality, while Apple’s work is for forge strategic alliances with partners that provide the appropriate enhancements to Siri and the other functions of its operating systems (on the one hand Google and OpenAI, but also Baidou in China), on the other the company has been working on an internally developed AI model for some time, privacy-proof and capable of running directly on Apple users’ latest devices. All to ensure that information does not leave the devices of Apple customers, thanks also to Apple Silicon processors which have had a section dedicated to AI for years: il Neural Engine.
It is no coincidence that analysts have repeatedly explained that Apple’s apparent “lag” is actually very relative. Apple has invested heavily over the years to create dozens of functions within its operating systems that go unnoticed but are extraordinarily complex and powerful. There are also many: from the automatic cropping of photos, which can be transformed into stickers, to text searches everywhere, on scanned texts and documents, up to the exposure functions of the camera, which “understands” the scenes and adjusts to obtain the best , also changing the lighting to highlight subjects, or the focus for videos.
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Apple has dozens and dozens of these “goodies”, but has never communicated them, placing emphasis not so much on the technological aspect, but on the ease of use and the value for those who use its platforms. Users are happier but today it really seems that the company still has to invent everything when it comes to AI. This is not true, even if the work continues.
How Siri will change
If we have already talked about the future AI engine in this article, what is interesting is to understand what they will be like made usable thanks to Siri. Here the step is technical but actually very simple to understand: Apple will use not one but three levels of artificial intelligence: a trident to conquer AI. This is because on the one hand there are many functions of operating systems and a single approach to artificial intelligence would not be enough. And on the other because, as Google is doing with Android and Microsoft with Windows (and Meta with Facebook and the other services of its platform), Apple intends to “spread” AI everywhere. But trying to do so while respecting its overall strategy of privacy and product differentiation of its offer.
The “deepest” level will be an enhancement of the integrated functions underlying the operating systems of its devices. So even improvements to those functions, for example photography or video, which happen “behind the scenes”, to make the use of the devices increasingly easier.
Then, with its new “AI engine” developed internally in recent months, the company will also make available to users a series of functions based on knowledge of the data and habits of those who use an iPhone for example. We still don’t know the details (they will arrive in June, during the WWDC) but essentially it should be a personal assistant and butler, capable of predicting and carry out daily needs and tasks. From writing an email or a message with our style to always finding the information we are missing in the chaos of messages and information under which each of us is submerged every day. All this, however, with the most absolute safety that nothing comes out of our iPhone, iPad or Mac, because all operations are done locally, thanks to the Neural Engine of Apple Silicon processors and the new AI algorithms trained in Cupertino.
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The third and final level of the trident, the most visible, will be the one that aims to transform Siri. In this case it is the enhancement for Siri carried out through technical solutions to make it faster and more “discursive”, capable of understanding questions better and answering them much more effectively. Indeed, thanks to the technologies developed by Apple such as “Steer” and “Eelbert”, it will be able to “understand” the information we need from the context and conversations on its own, without having to ask it directly, and to provide the right answers in the correct moment. Or to see a scene and “understand” what happens. In short, we can get Siri’s attention simply with a gesture. Perhaps. All of this, however, and this would be Apple’s second “miracle”, with total respect for people’s privacy.
All Siri tricks
The work of the digital assistant, in fact, will be made easier by the fluidity with which the AI models created especially for her are able to “understand” and “answer” users’ questions. Be careful, apparently Siri will only use it to understand and respond, not for data analysis, which will always and only happen on each user’s devices and will not lead to any “leak” of information to third parties. In practice, the trident with Siri will function as a super-confidential spokesperson, while the data will be processed and stored internally in the devices in the other two levels.
However, the results could be very important for the company: Apple already has a large platform that collects information on the health status of its users, messages, emails, navigation and management of many other aspects of life (from how many steps you take to your heart rate of the heart for those who use Apple Watches). All this information could make Apple’s AI a butler and personal doctor always attentive to our health, but also a nutritionist capable of understanding what we eat and how much, whether good or bad. And then also a personal assistant capable of making us juggle between the home and work agendas. Or a editor capable of editing our photos with simple voice commands: “Brighten my face more, improve the light on the road, blur the background and remove the parked car”.
And so on, many other functions, from the simplest ones like a personalized diaryto those for example of simultaneous translation of video calls with the dubbing of our interlocutor using his own voice in our language and slight real-time changes to the video to synchronize the movement of the lips. An instant dubbing, in short, which could perhaps arrive sooner than it seems.
In fact, it remains to be seen whether this will be the true implementation of the work they are doing in Cupertino. But if there’s one prediction that’s easy to make, it’s that Tim Cook will not leave privacy behindeven at the cost of limiting Siri and AI’s ability to see its users’ data.