Is Siri an AI? Will Apple embrace ChatGPT and modern AI? (2024)
Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority
When Apple launched the iPhone 4S in 2011, Siri quickly became one of the phone’s headlining features as it was one of the first voice assistants ever released. Unlike simple voice recognition on previous iPhone models that could only perform basic tasks, Siri could deliver the weather, set calendar appointments, and even respond to a handful of philosophical questions. Siri has gained capabilities over the years but the recent releases of AI services like ChatGPT and Google Bard have left it behind somewhat. So with that in mind, is Siri an AI? Let’s break it down.
Yes, Siri is an AI in the sense that it attempts to emulate human intelligence. However, it’s important to understand that we don’t judge artificial intelligence on a single metric. Siri passes one of the most basic requirements of AI: the ability to communicate in natural languages like English. It can also understand and respond in speech, another feature that we typically associate with AI.
Siri lacks some qualities required for true artificial intelligence.
Having said that, Siri has various inherent limitations that prevent it from understanding complex questions or responding in a way that a human would. For example, you can ask it to perform a simple math problem or currency conversion. However, Siri is not an AI that can perform this task on its own. Instead, it relies on a set of arithmetic algorithms similar to a calculator, which most people wouldn’t consider an example of AI these days.
In today’s world, older chatbots like Siri would fall under the category of narrow or weak AI. In other words, it shows limited signs of human intelligence and can only perform a small number of tasks. Apple could change how Siri works in the future but it pales in comparison to newer services like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot for now.
How does Siri work? Does it use machine learning?
Jimmy Westenberg / Android Authority
Siri uses a combination of voice recognition, natural language processing (NLP) AI tech, and machine learning-based algorithms to handle common tasks. Let’s go through each one in more detail:
Voice recognition: This may seem self-explanatory, but it’s a surprisingly complex problem as Siri has to handle a range of languages and accents from all over the world. Apple used machine learning to train a speech recognition model that can handle these edge cases.
Natural language processing (NLP): Early chatbots could only respond to a set of queries, like “What is the weather?” Siri can handle a slightly broader set, thanks to a branch of AI called natural language processing (NLP). You can ask questions like “Will it rain tomorrow?” and end up with the same weather forecast. When Siri first released, this was relatively new tech and regarded as a cutting-edge example of AI.
Task execution: Siri is currently incapable of thinking like a human, and instead relies on predefined algorithms for common tasks like arithmetic or setting reminders on your device. Apple likely uses machine learning for some tasks but it’s a far cry from being all-encompassing. There are still hundreds of tasks you cannot ask Siri to perform, like accessing a random third-party app on your phone or Mac.
The final task execution stage is where we’d judge the capabilities of an AI and Siri ultimately falls short. It doesn’t emulate human intelligence and certainly cannot code or solve math problems without outside help. Likewise, it cannot generate images or recognize objects in an image like a human would.
In summary then, Siri incorporates some facets of AI but cannot be wholly defined as an AI. That’s especially true now that generative AI chatbots like ChatGPT have come along that show emergent intelligence properties.
When will Siri become an AI?
Robert Triggs / Android Authority
Siri has received minor improvements over the past decade, but its primary use cases haven’t changed much. The competition has become a lot more serious in that time. Google’s Assistant with Bard, for example, fuses the search giant’s Siri rival with generative AI. This will allow the new Google Assistant to converse on a range of different subjects and respond more like a human.
While Apple hasn’t announced a similar AI push for Siri just yet, Bloomberg and 9To5Mac have found evidence that the company has started working on it internally. Code references point to Siri using generative AI to suggest replies in the Messages app and summarize a given piece of text. These are features we’ve seen in Samsung’s Galaxy AI and Google’s Pixel series so it’s possible that the next generation iPhone will match it as well.
Apple faces tough competition in the smartphone space, thanks to AI.
While generative AI models offer much more advanced functionality than Siri in its current state, it does have a few downsides. When ChatGPT first released, it was prone to hallucinating or responding with incorrect information. Things have improved since, but it’s still a risk inherent to large language models like GPT-4. It’ll be interesting to see Apple’s approach to this problem as the company likes to avoid risk and only embrace mature technologies. That said, competition from Google, Samsung, and other smartphones may force Apple to embrace the modern AI paradigm.
But Apple is likely to overhaul Siri for its upcoming software releases by transitioning it to a large language model (LLM) generative AI ChatGPT-like chatbot. Indeed, in summer 2023, Bloomberg reported that Apple was working internally on an LLM chatbot dubbed “AppleGPT.”
This initiative, part of iOS 18, signifies a significant leap in Apple's AI strategy, showcasing a new version of Siri enhanced with generative AI capabilities. The upgrade promises a range of new functionalities, aiming to revolutionize user interactions with Apple devices.
Apple's Siri, the virtual assistant available on iPhones, utilizes AI and machine learning in several ways to provide intelligent and personalized assistance to users: Natural Language Understanding (NLU):Siri employs natural language processing (NLP) techniques to understand and interpret user commands and queries.
It can also understand and respond in speech, another feature that we typically associate with AI. Siri lacks some qualities required for true artificial intelligence. Having said that, Siri has various inherent limitations that prevent it from understanding complex questions or responding in a way that a human would.
For example: Text and image recognition, speech recognition, translation of text, navigation systems, etc. Digital assistant systems like Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant also belong to the category of weak AI.
More importantly, Google assistant is the voice prompt for Google Home, Android Auto, and Android. This software is living in the background on billions of devices. If Google can bring an assistant comparable to Duplex to all of those devices it is a game changer.
Siri has a simple and streamlined interface, which is easy to use and navigate. On the other hand, Google Assistant offers a more visual and interactive interface that is more customizable to the user's preferences. While Siri's interface is simple and easy to use, some users may need help with customization options.
Even before you ask. SiriGPT is a GPT voice assistant built entirely with Shortcuts. It is now possible to use ChatGPT, a GPT-3 powered chatbot, on iPhone using the Shortcut app and an API key from OpenAI. This allows for the best of both worlds: Siri for common tasks and ChatGPT for text generation.
Siri has had a profound impact on conversational AI. This success proved that there was a demand for virtual assistants that could understand natural language queries. The following years, Google and Amazon introduced their own virtual assistants.
A personal assistant like Apple Siri is a good example of weak AI. This is AI that's confined to a very narrow task. It's like when a system processes language into text or when it sorts all the pictures on your computer. Most AI experts believe that we're just starting down the path of weak AI.
Rufus is a generative AI-powered expert shopping assistant trained on Amazon's extensive product catalog, customer reviews, community Q&As, and information from across the web to answer customer questions on a variety of shopping needs and products, provide comparisons, and make recommendations based on conversational ...
Siri, Alexa and other voice assistants are examples of conversational AI. These bots are not simply programmed with answers to questions but instead are a result of machine learning and natural language processing.
Amazon has made many AI-related enhancements to Alexa in recent months, including a new generative AI model to give the virtual assistant a more opinionated personality and the ability to adjust its tone and response to express human emotions like excitement or surprise.
Bloomberg Apple commentator Mark Gurman recently wrote in his Power On newsletter that iOS 18 is “seen within the company as one of the biggest iOS updates—if not the biggest—in the company's history.” Meanwhile, Apple CEO Tim Cook recently told shareholders the firm will “break new ground” in AI in 2024.
The company is using a technology called Large Language Models to give Siri superpowers. This will allow Siri to understand language much better and be able to answer all kinds of questions. Apple wants to show off the new and improved smart Siri at WWDC in 2024.
Among the new features coming in iOS 18 are AI-enhanced Siri, indicating Apple is following in the footsteps of both Microsoft and Google, which have their own AI-based chatbots. In iOS 18, it's possible AI will help with Apple Music playlists as well as troubleshooting any iPhone issues.
Siri is Apple's virtual assistant for iOS, macOS, tvOS and watchOS devices that use voice recognition and are powered by artificial intelligence (AI). Such technologies–Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant– that have become an integral part of our families, so to speak–are excellent examples of conversational AI.
Introduction: My name is Kelle Weber, I am a magnificent, enchanting, fair, joyous, light, determined, joyous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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