AppleInsider › Forums › Mobile › iPhone › Siri development team one of the largest groups at Apple
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Siri development team one of the largest groups at Apple

post #1 of 50
10/17/11 at 5:51am
Thread Starter 
The personality and sense of humor of Siri, the new voice control technology found in the iPhone 4S, was a carefully thought out decision made by one of the largest software teams at Apple.

The work behind Siri was profiled over the weekend by The Wall Street Journal. It revealed that the group of employees who created Siri have worked to make the artificial intelligence's responses "forge an emotional tie with customers."

"To that end, Siri regularly uses a customer's nickname in responses, as well as those of other important people and places in his or her life," the report said, citing an anonymous source at Apple who worked on the project. The goal was to make Siri seem like a person on the phone.

The Siri development team focused on keeping the software "friendly and humble -- but also with an edge." For example, telling Siri that you need to "hide a body" will have the AI provide a list of options, including mines and swamps.

Asking Siri "Who's your daddy?" earns "You are," in response. And quoting the movie "2001" with "Open the pod bay doors," will receive an in-kind response of "I'm afraid I can't do that," with Siri playing the role of the computer HAL 9000. Sometimes Siri follows up the quote with "We intelligent agents will never live that down, apparently."

Siri started off as an application for the iPhone available on the App Store. The software so impressed Apple that the company bought Siri for $200 million in April of 2010, and began integrating it into the iPhone 4S.



Siri is one of the defining features of the iPhone 4S released last Friday. Using it, users can speak to their handset in natural language, using it to dictate a text message or e-mail, make a phone call, set alarms or reminders, or even search for local restaurants and sort them by popularity.

The "sass" from Siri stems from the system's ability to interpret the meaning behind a user's request. Norman Winarsky, co-founder of Siri, told the Journal that before the software was bought by Apple, the goal was for Siri to have an "occasionally light attitude" when responding to users.



For more, see AppleInsider's first look at using the iPhone 4S with Siri voice assistant, complete with videos of the software in action.
Reply
Reply
post #2 of 50
10/17/11 at 6:08am
The name I am most curious about is Mark Zuckerberg. Was he invited?

If so, this might impact the Apple-Facebook relationship in a positive way.
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 50
10/17/11 at 6:16am
Quote:
Originally Posted by stelligent View Post

The name I am most curious about is Mark Zuckerberg. Was he invited?

If so, this might impact the Apple-Facebook relationship in a positive way.

Did you mean to post that on the memorial thread?
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 50
10/17/11 at 6:22am
Siri needs access to more databases. It would be awesome if it used whatever database was in IBM Watson.
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 50
10/17/11 at 6:22am
Apple's decision to limit Siri to their most profitable product was brilliant.

A compelling new feature, exclusive to the big bux model is the best way to get existing customers to cough up more money for a new phone.

Apple never ceases to amaze me. I expect their profits to increase greatly with the introduction of the 4S.
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 50
10/17/11 at 6:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ConradJoe View Post

Apple's decision to limit Siri to their most profitable product was brilliant.

A compelling new feature, exclusive to the big bux model is the best way to get existing customers to cough up more money for a new phone.

Apple never ceases to amaze me. I expect their profits to increase greatly with the introduction of the 4S.

Dude, this is the way it is in a commercialized society. Apple has to sell and sell all the time. Look at the Android market. There are way more Android phone models than iphone. Apple is on its 5th phone while Android OEMS are on like their 50th!!!! LOL!
SERI is a game changer because I believe it will be used all over iwork and ilife just to name a few.
Man Apple has set itself up for at least 6 to 8 years of new tech growth with SRI. Moreover, I believe Apple's stock will pass $600.00 a share by the time iphone 5 drops. Maybe by the time ipad 3 hots the shelves.
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 50
10/17/11 at 6:55am
I'm still using a Sony Ericsson K800i...it's probably time to change.
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 50
10/17/11 at 7:10am
Quote:
Originally Posted by dagamer34 View Post

Siri needs access to more databases. It would be awesome if it used whatever database was in IBM Watson.

Or if it could access any apps running in the background on your phone. I was wishing all weekend I could ask it the score of a football game and have it reply, without having to open the ESPN app.
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 50
10/17/11 at 7:12am
On the whole I've enjoyed using Siri, I was really happy that the voice used out here in the UK is different to one on the keynote demo..... Much nicer somehow, less computerised.

The only issue I've had is when I ask it to call a contact where I've only entered in the forename, this is especially true for Vicky. Siri correctly picks up that I've said Vicky, searches my address book and offers me three names from my contact list, two of which have surnames and then asks me which Vicky.

When I simply repeat Vicky it waits for two seconds and then bleeps to tell me it does not understand.... come on Siri, even if you did not pick up that I said Vicky you asked me a question. Out of 3 options two have two words and the one has one word, as I only said one word your little brain should assume I meant for you to call/text the contact with just one name!
iPad, Macbook Pro, iPhone, heck I even have iLife! :-)
Reply
iPad, Macbook Pro, iPhone, heck I even have iLife! :-)
Reply
post #10 of 50
10/17/11 at 7:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by airnerd View Post

Or if it could access any apps running in the background on your phone. I was wishing all weekend I could ask it the score of a football game and have it reply, without having to open the ESPN app.

This requires setting up many partnership agreements, which may in part explain the beta status. Many companies are likely pitching to Apple right at this moment. Would Apple pay SI or ESPN for scores, or would they pay Apple? Knowing Apple, it would be the latter.
Reply
Reply
post #11 of 50
10/17/11 at 7:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by saarek View Post

On the whole I've enjoyed using Siri, I was really happy that the voice used out here in the UK is different to one on the keynote demo..... Much nicer somehow, less computerised.

The only issue I've had is when I ask it to call a contact where I've only entered in the forename, this is especially true for Vicky. Siri correctly picks up that I've said Vicky, searches my address book and offers me three names from my contact list, two of which have surnames and then asks me which Vicky.

When I simply repeat Vicky it waits for two seconds and then bleeps to tell me it does not understand.... come on Siri, even if you did not pick up that I said Vicky you asked me a question. Out of 3 options two have two words and the one has one word, as I only said one word your little brain should assume I meant for you to call/text the contact with just one name!

The response makes sense since you in no way refined the search criteria for Siri to use, so stop fussing and start communicating! You're one of those folks that when asked for directions waves vaguely off in a directions and says, "thataway - over there" aren't you

That all being said - let's remember that Apple, which are careful in setting expectations emphasized that Siri is still beta delivery. There is huge potential here to tap and Apple taps potential slowly and deliberately - no matter how fast or robust us tech geeks want it to happen!

EDIT: One other point, while the Accessibility settings are really good for the iPhone, Siri takes it to a whole other level for blind users.
If you are going to insist on being an ass, at least demonstrate the intelligence to be a smart one
Reply
If you are going to insist on being an ass, at least demonstrate the intelligence to be a smart one
Reply
post #12 of 50
10/17/11 at 7:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by dagamer34 View Post

Siri needs access to more databases. It would be awesome if it used whatever database was in IBM Watson.

I asked it last week, "Siri, what time do the Tigers play tonight?" I meant the Detroit Tigers, of course, in the playoffs. Siri had no idea what I was talking about. Okay fine. So I got more specific, explaining baseball, saying playoffs, saying sports team. Nothing.

Yeah, so more databases. I would think that sports schedules and scores would be an easy, useful, and obvious section of data to incorporate.

Yes, I told apple at /feedback...
Reply
Reply
post #13 of 50
10/17/11 at 7:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Harbinger View Post

This requires setting up many partnership agreements, which may in part explain the beta status. Many companies are likely pitching to Apple right at this moment. Would Apple pay SI or ESPN for scores, or would they pay Apple? Knowing Apple, it would be the latter.

Seems like both would be ok with letting each other piggyback for free. Think about it, the more people that use SIRI the more popular it becomes and the more phones Apple can sell based on that ONE aspect. I know people buy for more reasons, but the more cool things you can have proprietary to your product the better. Then if ESPN can say "Download our sportcenter app and it will work with SIRI", then they get more downloads and useage. Win win for both, so why not piggyback for free.

The more info I can get from Siri, the more likely I am to use it. The more people Apple lets in the door for free, the more companies that will spend money making it compatible.
Reply
Reply
post #14 of 50
10/17/11 at 7:29am
Siri threatened to report me to "the intelligence agent's union" for "harassment" after I repeatedly told it to open the pod bay doors.

I quickly apologized and all was good.
Reply
Reply
post #15 of 50
10/17/11 at 7:30am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shogun View Post

I asked it last week, "Siri, what time do the Tigers play tonight?" I meant the Detroit Tigers, of course, in the playoffs. Siri had no idea what I was talking about. Okay fine. So I got more specific, explaining baseball, saying playoffs, saying sports team. Nothing.

Yeah, so more databases. I would think that sports schedules and scores would be an easy, useful, and obvious section of data to incorporate.

Yes, I told apple at /feedback...

Did Siri comeback and say "next season, because the Rangers won"? LOL, j/k with you. That was a GREAT GREAT GREAT series and have nothing but respect for Leyland and your team.
Reply
Reply
post #16 of 50
10/17/11 at 7:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by maccherry View Post

Dude, this is the way it is in a commercialized society. Apple has to sell and sell all the time. Look at the Android market. There are way more Android phone models than iphone. Apple is on its 5th phone while Android OEMS are on like their 50th!!!! LOL!
SERI is a game changer because I believe it will be used all over iwork and ilife just to name a few.
Man Apple has set itself up for at least 6 to 8 years of new tech growth with SRI. Moreover, I believe Apple's stock will pass $600.00 a share by the time iphone 5 drops. Maybe by the time ipad 3 hots the shelves.

Here's hoping

I'm counting down to $1000 a share in a few years.
Been using Apples since 1978 and Macs since 1984
Long on AAPL so biased. Strong advocate for separation of technology and politics on AI.
Reply
Been using Apples since 1978 and Macs since 1984
Long on AAPL so biased. Strong advocate for separation of technology and politics on AI.
Reply
post #17 of 50
10/17/11 at 7:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by airnerd View Post

I was wishing all weekend I could ask it the score of a football game and have it reply, without having to open the ESPN app.

Never thought about stuff like this, you'd think if they could implement traffic, that this would actually be fairly easy for the major professional sports (NFL, NHL, NBA, etc., etc.)

Now I'm excited. I'm in Canada and it's use is fairly limited now, but....
Reply
Reply
post #18 of 50
10/17/11 at 8:20am
In response to "What is the traffic like today?" question Siri could simply answer "It sucks like usual" for my region.
Reply
Reply
post #19 of 50
10/17/11 at 8:30am
Quote:
Originally Posted by dagamer34 View Post

Siri needs access to more databases. It would be awesome if it used whatever database was in IBM Watson.

Yes, it would be awesome if it accessed Watson. Watson (as it came across on Jeopardy, anyway) seems to have been tailored for something like Siri. (Especially in terms of its speed.) And access to other apps, as has been mentioned, although I expect this will eventually come.

Apple might consider a simple thumbs up/thumbs down button for Siri allowing users to rate the answers. I know they don't want to clutter up the interface but it seems they could use a stream of real-time feedback.
Reply
Reply
post #20 of 50
10/17/11 at 8:30am
Quote:
Originally Posted by trevc View Post

Never thought about stuff like this, you'd think if they could implement traffic, that this would actually be fairly easy for the major professional sports (NFL, NHL, NBA, etc., etc.)

Now I'm excited. I'm in Canada and it's use is fairly limited now, but....

I think it is just a matter of time before it works, or someone finds a way to "push to siri". I can understand some things not being able to work, but when you have an app that is running it seems like eventually SIRI will be able to read the data in that app.
Reply
Reply
post #21 of 50
10/17/11 at 8:37am
What is the difference between Siri and Nuance? I hear "Siri, powered by Nuance." What does that mean? Doesn't Siri do the entire package? Where does Siri end and Nuance begin?
Reply
Reply
post #22 of 50
10/17/11 at 8:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by fecklesstechguy View Post

The response makes sense since you in no way refined the search criteria for Siri to use, so stop fussing and start communicating! You're one of those folks that when asked for directions waves vaguely off in a directions and says, "thataway - over there" aren't you

That all being said - let's remember that Apple, which are careful in setting expectations emphasized that Siri is still beta delivery. There is huge potential here to tap and Apple taps potential slowly and deliberately - no matter how fast or robust us tech geeks want it to happen!

EDIT: One other point, while the Accessibility settings are really good for the iPhone, Siri takes it to a whole other level for blind users.

Siri asked me "Vicky or Victoria Whitendale" I replied Vicky. In which way was my response unclear?
iPad, Macbook Pro, iPhone, heck I even have iLife! :-)
Reply
iPad, Macbook Pro, iPhone, heck I even have iLife! :-)
Reply
post #23 of 50
10/17/11 at 8:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by macinthe408 View Post

What is the difference between Siri and Nuance? I hear "Siri, powered by Nuance." What does that mean? Doesn't Siri do the entire package? Where does Siri end and Nuance begin?

A week or two ago there was an interview published with the founder of Siri. He said the voice recognition was modular, so if something better came along and Apple wanted to swap out Nuance's for that, they could do it quite easily.

This makes sense, since all the voice recognition needs to do is turn speech into text and then pass it to the AI to interpret and act upon.

~Philly
Reply
Reply
post #24 of 50
10/17/11 at 8:49am
As you know, Siri was an App available in the App Store. Now is has disappeared and my version on my iPhone4 stopped working on Saturday (15th). It was working well on that Friday.

When I try to use it, I get, "Sorry, a problem occurred receiving response from the server." Nothing after that.
Reply
Reply
post #25 of 50
10/17/11 at 9:10am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shogun View Post

I asked it last week, "Siri, what time do the Tigers play tonight?" I meant the Detroit Tigers, of course, in the playoffs. Siri had no idea what I was talking about. Okay fine. So I got more specific, explaining baseball, saying playoffs, saying sports team. Nothing.

Yeah, so more databases. I would think that sports schedules and scores would be an easy, useful, and obvious section of data to incorporate.

Yes, I told apple at /feedback...

Your response is really interesting, because it showcases both the power and the pitfalls of this technology. First, it really demonstrates that people are ready to embrace these sorts of "intelligent" agents. Second, it demonstrates the really high bar that is already set in terms of expectation.

You expected a rudimentary AI to know something that many people would not know. It's possible that some people, when asked your question, may have correctly inferred that you were talking about a sports team, but many would not have... and only a small percentage would have been able to understand that you were talking about the Detroit Tigers. In a sense, your expectation is that Siri will 'know' everything about everything, and will be able to correctly infer meaning based on context like where you live, etc. That's a LOT to expect.

I think its going to be interesting to see how far this technology goes in the next year.
Reply
Reply
post #26 of 50
10/17/11 at 9:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by saarek View Post

Siri asked me "Vicky or Victoria ASDF" I replied Vicky. In which way was my response unclear?

Only one Victoria with that last name on facebook...just saying.
Reply
Reply
post #27 of 50
10/17/11 at 9:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by macinthe408 View Post

What is the difference between Siri and Nuance? I hear "Siri, powered by Nuance." What does that mean? Doesn't Siri do the entire package? Where does Siri end and Nuance begin?

Nuance is the voice recognition.

Siri is the artificial intelligence that allows you to speak conversationally with it.
PhilBoogie
That's Google alright. For a stupid company they sure do dumb things.
Reply
PhilBoogie
That's Google alright. For a stupid company they sure do dumb things.
Reply
post #28 of 50
10/17/11 at 9:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by saarek View Post

On the whole I've enjoyed using Siri, I was really happy that the voice used out here in the UK is different to one on the keynote demo..... Much nicer somehow, less computerised.

The only issue I've had is when I ask it to call a contact where I've only entered in the forename, this is especially true for Vicky. Siri correctly picks up that I've said Vicky, searches my address book and offers me three names from my contact list, two of which have surnames and then asks me which Vicky.

When I simply repeat Vicky it waits for two seconds and then bleeps to tell me it does not understand.... come on Siri, even if you did not pick up that I said Vicky you asked me a question. Out of 3 options two have two words and the one has one word, as I only said one word your little brain should assume I meant for you to call/text the contact with just one name!

Be careful, now - you're going to hurt Siri's feelings.
Reply
Reply
post #29 of 50
10/17/11 at 9:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post

[...] the group of employees who created Siri have worked to make the artificial intelligence's responses "forge an emotional tie with customers." [...]

You might say that Apple has always worked to create emotional ties with customers.
In contrast to Microsoft having always worked to create licensing contracts with corporations.

Sent from my iPhone Simulator

Reply

Sent from my iPhone Simulator

Reply
post #30 of 50
10/17/11 at 10:02am
Siri started off as an application for the iPhone available on the App Store. The software so impressed Apple that the company bought Siri for $200 million in April of 2010, and began integrating it into the iPhone 4S.


Siri is one of the defining features of the iPhone 4S released last Friday.

Siri WAS one of the best apps on my iPhone 4. thanks Apple for advertising your old acquisition as a revolutionary new product while quietly killing it's functionality on legacy devices. i'm not upgrading to the 4S for a "defining feature" that i already had. /rant
Reply
Reply
post #31 of 50
10/17/11 at 10:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by macinthe408 View Post

What is the difference between Siri and Nuance? I hear "Siri, powered by Nuance." What does that mean? Doesn't Siri do the entire package? Where does Siri end and Nuance begin?

The deciphering of your voice actually takes place on Nuance's servers; that's why Siri only works when it has internet access. Mobile processors simply don't have the processing power to handle that in real time. I believe desktop systems are capable of handling it, though.

Hopefully in a few years, mobile platforms will have the power to do all of the voice recognition without using a remote server.
Reply
Reply
post #32 of 50
10/17/11 at 10:33am
First, it would be nice if it worked more often. About 30% of the time I get the "unable to connect to my server" message.

For Siri to make an impact, it has to be available. Otherwise, I don't think people are going to keep trying to use it.

Second, more databases, sure, but I'd also like it to do more with my phone. Especially toggling settings that are tucked away.

Would love to be able to say, "Turn on my personal hotspot." Or, "Disable Bluetooth."
Reply
Reply
post #33 of 50
10/17/11 at 10:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mister Snitch View Post

Yes, it would be awesome if it accessed Watson. Watson (as it came across on Jeopardy, anyway) seems to have been tailored for something like Siri. (Especially in terms of its speed.) And access to other apps, as has been mentioned, although I expect this will eventually come.

Apple might consider a simple thumbs up/thumbs down button for Siri allowing users to rate the answers. I know they don't want to clutter up the interface but it seems they could use a stream of real-time feedback.

Agreed. Be interesting to know how Apple is gathering feedback to improve it.
Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster by your side, kid.
Reply
Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster by your side, kid.
Reply
post #34 of 50
10/17/11 at 11:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by saarek View Post

Siri asked me "Vicky or Victoria Xxxx" I replied Vicky. In which way was my response unclear?

In any relationship, especially new ones, difficulties in communication are fairly common. Don't give up. If you show interest in getting to know her I suspect you will discover what she can do for you. It might be a bit of a bumpy road to start out. A little give and take. But the effort is usually worth it.

Or, you could try not takin' any sh!t off that b!tch. I haven't heard anyone try that yet with siri.
Reply
Reply
post #35 of 50
10/17/11 at 12:01pm
If you want to hear what real edge could be, hunt down the Siri mashup featuring GlaDOS from Portal. I would pay big money to have GlaDOS provide the voice and attitude for Siri's responses. Hilarious.
Reply
Reply
post #36 of 50
10/17/11 at 12:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by JackTheRat View Post

I'm still using a Sony Ericsson K800i...it's probably time to change.

Nah, give it another 10 years.

DaHarder just got banned. Let's crack open the champagne.

Reply

DaHarder just got banned. Let's crack open the champagne.

Reply
post #37 of 50
10/17/11 at 12:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by macinthe408 View Post

What is the difference between Siri and Nuance? I hear "Siri, powered by Nuance." What does that mean? Doesn't Siri do the entire package? Where does Siri end and Nuance begin?

Nuance grabs your voice and turns it into text, Siri tries to figure out what the text means in the context of the existing conversion and your past conversations with it.

Both Nuance and Siri were developed at DARPA.

DaHarder just got banned. Let's crack open the champagne.

Reply

DaHarder just got banned. Let's crack open the champagne.

Reply
post #38 of 50
10/17/11 at 12:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post

Siri is the artificial intelligence that allows you to speak conversationally with it.

It understands what you say because of how it was programmed, but it's not real "Artificial intelligence".

DaHarder just got banned. Let's crack open the champagne.

Reply

DaHarder just got banned. Let's crack open the champagne.

Reply
post #39 of 50
10/17/11 at 12:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ireland View Post

It understands what you say because of how it was programmed, but it's not real "Artificial intelligence".

There must be an AI element to it server-side. It's the best way it can improve. If they trace the conversations of tens of millions of people and the successful/failed responses along with dialects and locality info, you have the makings of something Google should probably be very mindful of. Google search expects you to talk to it like you are a computer and you have to wade through the incorrect items and adverts. Siri expects you to talk to it like you're a human and it does the legwork like a true assistant should.
Reply
Reply
post #40 of 50
10/17/11 at 1:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marvin View Post

There must be an AI element to it server-side. It's the best way it can improve. If they trace the conversations of tens of millions of people and the successful/failed responses along with dialects and locality info, you have the makings of something Google should probably be very mindful of. Google search expects you to talk to it like you are a computer and you have to wade through the incorrect items and adverts. Siri expects you to talk to it like you're a human and it does the legwork like a true assistant should.

From what I've seen there is no way to provide feedback to Siri to indicate it has given an incorrect response, correct?

Proud AAPL stock owner.

 

GOA

Reply

Proud AAPL stock owner.

 

GOA

Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: iPhone
AppleInsider › Forums › Mobile › iPhone › Siri development team one of the largest groups at Apple