coolfactor

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coolfactor
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  • Cook 'incredibly excited' about generative AI coming to Apple gear later in 2024

    coolfactorcoolfactor
    charlesn said:
    Considering how badly Apple has fumbled voice assistant technology--Siri remains, as ever, the dumbest student in the class--I have concerns about how well it will deploy advanced AI capabilities. I am all-in on Apple devices EXCEPT when it comes smart speakers and voice-controlled lights and appliances. Part of the reason is because Siri continues to be frustratingly and profoundly stupid--but mainly, it's because Alexa and Google are in everything and Siri is not. Siri debuted as an iOS app 14 years ago this month. Then Apple bought the company that developed Siri just two months later. Meanwhile, Amazon wouldn't debut Alexa for another 4.5 years--but it totally blew away Siri capabilities when it hit the market. How Apple frittered away a years-long head start in voice assistant technology is beyond me, but they did and Alexa became ubiquitous.

    I think Tim said what he had to say today for the benefit of Wall Street because Apple is simply not in the conversation when it comes to AI... except to ask, "Where is Apple in all of this?" which is not the question you want raised. The lack of specifics in what he said did not inspire confidence that there are specifics to tout--I guess he's hoping to have some by WWDC in June. And you can blah, blah, blah all you want about how much AI is already in Apple products, but it doesn't change the fact that, as a company, they are not in the AI conversation like MSFT, NVDA, GOOG, META, etc. 

    As a creative professional--you know, a prime target market for Apple--AI is already having a profound and beneficial effect on my work flow. And none of the tools I'm currently using are connected to Apple in any way. 

    There is a difference between Supervised ML (machine-learning) assistants — which Siri is one — and Unsupervised Generative AI. You can't really compare these apples to apples. A Generative AI chatbot has a massive knowledgebase that is constantly being updated by ingesting new content. Siri, by contrast, learns from a pre-selected knowledgebase that doesn't change. Both are valid approaches. It's just a matter of evolution. We're now entering a new phase of AI/ML — generative content responses — which is not what Siri was originally designed with. It doesn't mean that Apple has fallen behind.

    This is another case of Apple not rushing to be the first, but will offer the best, most usable, most accessible version to the largest population. It would be extremely irresponsible of them to move Siri to a Generative AI model without having safeguards in place. We've seen what happens in ChatGPT and how some very concerning responses have been provided.

    To truly appreciate how good Siri is in 2024, one must compare it to Siri in 2010.  It has come a long way! But it will still faulter if people don't word their queries clearly and with good pronunciation. That's not a fault of Siri, but of the operator. Garbage in, garbage out.
    watto_cobra

  • iOS 17.4 beta has signs of an AI-improved Siri ahead of WWDC 2024

    coolfactorcoolfactor
    It’s hard to imagine that Siri could possibly get worse, but hopefully this will be an improvement.

    Siri is great in _many_ ways. But plenty of room for improvement.

    It looks like the article title may have been updated?

    Siri is already "AI-powered" in the sense that it's powered by machine-learning tech, a subset of AI.

    Generative AI is a whole new category that is bringing us closer to what Knowledge Navigator embodied back in the 80's.

    I envisioned such "helpful agents" 26 years ago. We're finally getting there.

    I foresee a massively upgraded Siri by end of year. 
    ihatescreennameswilliamlondonwatto_cobra

  • Apple still plans to charge developers for sideloading apps in EU

    coolfactorcoolfactor
    App signatures.

    Regardless of where an app came from, if it doesn't have an approved signature certificate from Apple, it won't run.

    I'm good with that.
    dope_ahminemac_dogdanoxchasmmacxpressGabyigorskydee_deewilliamlondonwatto_cobra

  • So far, Apple is struggling to market Apple Vision Pro

    coolfactorcoolfactor
    Launch day sold out. $270 million dollars later. I'd hardly call that floundering.

    macxpressdanox9secondkox2Bart Ywatto_cobra

  • Apple TV+ shares trailer for sci-fi series 'Constellation' ahead of series premiere

    coolfactorcoolfactor

    (there's a link problem in the article.. the entire text is a link)

    Looks like a good Sci-Fi-Thriller mix. Too bad that there are payment disputes happening, and Apple gets the blame in the public image.

    watto_cobra