I don’t believe that’s entirely the case, and not only that, but I doubt the Vision Pro is the only surprise Apple’s got in store for us, for 2024.
As we reported recently, Siri’s big AI transformation could be announced at WWDC 2024.
Indeed, Siri, Apple’s virtual assistant that’s been on iPhones since 2011, might finally catch up with the competition; perhaps even surpass it, this year. Here’s my two cents on why that’s a huge deal, and where it may lead us, based on what we know so far…
The new 2024 Siri may get ChatGPT-like conversational abilities; actual comprehension of written and spoken word, not just basic commands and keywords? Image generation potentially coming too!
Siri has gotten a tad more conversational in recent times, now listening for further commands after the initial one, and attempting to understand and connect the dots between them, but it’s still quite behind more advanced virtual assistants like Alexa and Google Assistant.There are plenty of reasons for that, most well-known being the fact that Apple chooses not to collect as much data from its users (and thus train Siri on it) as the companies behind those other assistants, which has a limiting impact on Siri.
However, reports are now saying that Apple is, in fact, now spending millions a day, to train its own language model called Ajax, which, according to The Information (via The Verge) “is more powerful than ChatGPT.”
Not only that, but Apple’s (hopefully) upcoming Siri update will also be able to recognise and even generate images for you, not unlike what Microsoft’s Copilot (among others) can already do today.
For the uninitiated, you can basically tell such AI assistants whatever ridiculous thing comes to mind, like “generate an image of the pope wearing a puffer jacket” and they’ll attempt to do just that. We’ve all seen the fake image in question, right?
Granted, AI models have received certain limitations since then; many of them are no longer allowed to generate images of real people, or potentially offensive images in general. Which, judging by Google’s AI sparking some controversial discussions recently, is a pretty difficult task to nail.
In any case, we can assume that Apple will handle things more gracefully, meaning it will probably limit the heck out of what the new, advanced Siri can generate, or say, in an extreme effort to be as unoffensive as possible, at the potential price of limited functionality.
But more importantly, here’s hoping Apple manages to retain its privacy-oriented image even after introducing this massive new ChatGPT-like update for Siri.
The new, advanced Siri will have a big place on the Apple Vision Pro! Warning: futuristic speculation…
Apple CEO Tim Cook
I recently published an editorial titled “Having a conversation with your AI phone: Why this is the future, and just plain exciting.” In it, I attempted to convey why conversational AI is an incredible thing to have, and make use of, if not a bit eerie.
If the above-mentioned reports turn out to be true, and Apple really gives Siri ChatGPT-like (and supposedly even more powerful) capabilities, we’ll suddenly have intelligent, conversational AI built-into millions of users’ iPhones, iPads and MacBooks.
Conversational, generative AI will suddenly become far more than just a tech enthusiast thing for a niche group of people to tinker with. It’s exciting to see where this goes, albeit, again, a bit worrisome.
But I digress, here’s the thing – a new, powerful Siri with intelligent conversational abilities, along with image recognition and generational capabilities, will fit perfectly into Apple’s vision for the future – the Apple Vision Pro AR/VR headset.
For now, the Vision Pro is arguably just a more clunky iPad presented in a different way, but with far less apps. It’s a promise; Apple’s just testing the waters.
But imagine this idea years from now – when it inevitably blossoms into thinner, lighter AR glasses, with a built-in, always-active, intelligent virtual assistant, that can not only see everything you’re seeing, but recognize and understand it.
It can converse with you, help you navigate the world, recognize and internet-search all the things that cross your eyesight (say a nice car drives by and you quickly wish to check its model and price), and who knows what else.
Granted, this vision is probably a bit far into the future as of 2024, but slowly and surely – its foundation is becoming real before our very eyes.
This year Apple might finally catch up, and maybe even surpass the competition with its own, hopefully more private and reliable AI language model, and that’s a massive step towards said vision.
In any case, how do you feel about that? Disturbing, or exciting? Do you believe Apple will surprise us with a massive Siri update this year?
