jellybelly

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jellybelly
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  • Siri in iOS 18.4 is getting worse before it gets better

    jellybellyjellybelly
    tundraboy said:

    I believe Apple is seeking to allow eventual transitioning and integration to R-AI—AI with reasoning, not just trillions of predictive tests on language. 

    I read a book by some tech researcher who said "if you can replace a neuron with a man-made nano-device that did everything a neuron did, then would that brain function any differently?" (Or words to that effect.) He then added that logically then, you should be able to replace every neuron in the human brain with the same nano-device and have an artificial brain and AI that is indistinguishable from the human variety.  That is his argument for why AI will eventually instantiate human intelligence.

    Of course the main stumbling block in his argument is that he assumed that a man-made nano-device that does EVERYTHING that a neuron does is unquestionably attainable.  We don't even know how neurons work.  We don't even know if we will ever know enough to truly understand how a neuron works.  This is the fallacy of assuming infinite future knowledge that a lot of futurists including AI advocates unwittingly commit.

    Yes R-AI, AI with Reasoning, would solve a lot of the criticisms leveled on AI.  Only problem is, no one really knows how to get a machine to truly reason the way the smarter segment of the human population does.  We don't even know if that is achievable, but some just power through with  their arguments by treating it as a given.   (Reasoning like the other, much larger, segment of humanity, on the other hand, --well, AI has already achieved that.)
    In referring to R-AI addition of reasoning, it is at a low level, very low compared to humans, but nevertheless will add to productivity in small ways at first, along with an error rate.   The 95% accuracy rate you referred to can be as low as 80% and have some uses.  My bicycle tool multiplies my movement and is a very useful tool only in 10% or less of my travels, but I’ll still have some uses.   I barely have a use for AI in writing.  Grammar checkers and spell checkers have been around for over several decades—software trained on rules by humans.  The AI equivalent hasn’t helped me very reliably. But when I find it helpful, it’s for a first pass—it highlights possible errors so fast, I can review the suggestions and ignore what might not be applicable or appropriate.  But it still is a tool that can be used with appropriate expectations.  A few of the AppleInsider staff have mentioned its usefulness.   I expect they are more skilled in leveraging AI as an additive tool.  
    Yes it’s is overhyped in the masses.   But it’s steadily being improved in the labs.   The same will be true for R-AI.  It’ll be a tool for appropriate use, and the reasoning will make it just a bit better.  

    You’re correct point out the fallacy of approaching the  vast network of neurons that are analog, not digital.   Plus there interaction with the incoming body senses from the usual suspects of sight, sound, hearing, taste, smelll, hot, cold, in addition to dull vs sharp pain, muscle tension or relaxation feedback, endocrine interaction — the list goes on and on that a robot won’t have in the same way.  Nevertheless, as overall AI develops, it will be a useful tool in the right circumstances.  

    I’m in for the long haul warts snd all.  Used in  conjunction with radiologists in mammogram reading it’s had increased accuracy—not alone but when used along with human readers ( radiologists).  

    I expect slow progress so I’m not cynical, but rather hopeful and patient,


    watto_cobraAlex1N

  • Siri in iOS 18.4 is getting worse before it gets better

    jellybellyjellybelly
    shad0h said:
    Dramaticising a component or feature not working in a developer beta...

    How exactly is that quality tech journalism ?
    In my opinion it is high quality tech journalism. It is honest, based on repeatable observations.  Where the observation was not repeatable, the author points that out.

    The author is writing about observations from different sources as well as within the AppleInsider team that brings a variety of experience and skills to the table.   

    He’s pointing out that Siri is performing less well as it is going through a transition of development.  

    As far as scraping/starting-over and waiting for a new Siri as implied by some, elsewhere online, Apple has to keep some core functions working that have been useful in things such as ‘Apple Home’ functions albeit with new hiccups. 

    Apple is faced with a transition from a type of machine learning that required selective iterations of data in the thousands-on-device to billions or more in iCloud, along with smart search—to integrating LLM’s (Large Language Models).  LLM are an iteration of data at such a large scale that it takes data centers requiring the electrical power of small cities.  
    It’s a different kind of machine learning that is so massive in its data scanning and complex algorithms, that AI software engineers admit they don’t know precisely how results are arrived at in the sense of every iterative test that was tried in the massive scanning of data and the predictive testing tried and discarded to winnow down to the mostly usable predictions of characters (we are talking about the “L” that stands for Language) and results.  

    I believe Apple is seeking to allow eventual transitioning and integration to R-AI—AI with reasoning, not just trillions of predictive tests on language. 

    We are an impatient species, a drive that moves us forward in starts and stops.  We have wants and hopes that can become expectations and even demands.  Our weakness and strength are hopes and wants jumping to demands even when we are too impatient to have them realized (or not) in a time period that is hard to understand and/or predict.  

    In the case of artificial intelligence developing in the Apple sphere, our expectations are getting ahead of reality.  If you are disappointed in the progress so far, that seems quite reasonable.  Disappointment is different than demands.  
    Any blanket conclusions out in the blogosphere that Apple AI is useless because much of it does not yet exist, goes to impatience that’s likely an inefficient use of our energy.  But it is our choice if that is sometimes our reaction. And that’s fine.  We have that choice.   My hope is that we don’t ’throw out the baby with the bath water’ now or in the future.  


    muthuk_vanalingamxyzzy01watto_cobraAlex1N

  • iPhone 16e lacks Ultra Wideband tracking and Thread radio

    jellybellyjellybelly
    To Avon B7 and Gatorguy:
    It’s nice to see you on the forum.  

    The lack of precision for AirTags is a loss of a handy function, but you at least will know the tag and what it’s attached to is in the house or within a general location.  Since most phones in the masses only contribute to general location without precision you still get that functionality.  But the precision of UWB is indeed a nice feature that’s missing. But perhaps to be expected as a differentiator from the other models. 

    As to mm wave, we hardly benefit from it anyway, so it’s less of a feature loss.   
    mmWave signals are easily blocked by walls, trees, and even people, and walls of buildings, so you don’t usually gets its benefit.   Plus it has very limited distance, so out in the world there are few opportunities to communicate in mm wave. Some good locations might be stadium, airports, annd perhaps crowded downtown or mall areas—although as mentioned, even people’s bodies and cars are obstacles.  So I see mm wave as the least missing feature.   

    Thread opportunities for upcoming Apple home accessories seem to be a more of a lost opportunity for Apple and for customer convenience.  WiFi and Bluetooth will still offer functionality, albeit more limited in the future compared to Thread in ease of setup and compatibility.  That can be a bigger deal to mix and match different brands of home products.   
    watto_cobra

  • iPhone 16e lacks Ultra Wideband tracking and Thread radio

    jellybellyjellybelly
    Could the radios be in the silicon but turned off?—waiting for a firmware update that’s being refined to get them working optimally?   

    Not having these two radios seems to be losing opportunities for accessory sales.  That would include wearables plus rumored upcoming re-entry into home devices. 
    watto_cobra

  • iOS 18.4 Beta 1 is imminent, set to bring improvements to Siri

    jellybellyjellybelly
    I my impatient-self would prefer to Siri be updated significantly before releasing even a beta, rather than updates in drips and drabs over many releases.   If it is significantly improved out of the gate, it will get better coverage and word-of-mouth. 

    However, it may need to come out in stages in public usage, so that usage can give feedback and anonymous data to keep improving it.   I’ll take that to get a really handy and enjoyable Siri.   
    In that case, I urge patience from all of us, rather than trashing minor improvements. The teams at Apple want Siri to work for us and to please us as much as we do—perhaps more so as they see the potential in the prototypes, no matter how hard it is to get it right. It will come.  

    "Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished." —Lao Tzu

    ihatescreennames