Okay, I'm going to ask this question, even though I already know the answer. When was the last time you used Siri for something serious? I thought so. It's been around for a while, but it wasn't really helping. That may soon change.
Apparently, Apple is building a new version of Siri from scratch, and if the description in this first article is accurate, it will make Siri more useful. Not just with knowledge questions, but with tasks that involve multiple applications.
The concept is very straightforward. Instead of opening a bunch of different apps, you simply ask Siri, and she does it. Want to send a text?
Ask Siri. Set a reminder? Ask Siri. Manage your files? Ask Siri. Even planning your day? Ask Siri. Nice, huh? Except we've heard this all before, so we should always be skeptical.
It didn't happen. AI has time. The proliferation of products like ChatGPT has raised consumer expectations of digital assistants. Now we are used to conversational AI, to AI that can tell us things and help us at work. Siri, by contrast, feels depressed.
Everyone else goes forward again. Microsoft is integrating AI into its software with Copilot in Word, Excel, and beyond. So Apple is doubling down on it now? It sounds like playing catch, but you do it your way.
Apple also emphasizes privacy. And that goes hand in hand. With all the debate about how tech giants approach AI, see for example, the recent debate about AI and data ownership, users are more concerned about data management.
If Apple can make its AI assistant more intelligent while keeping data private, it will be a big difference.
But still, you have to ask yourself: will it really work? A super-smart Siri is scary, but it should be accurate. If it continues to waste, or fails to understand, it will not be used.
But hey, maybe this will be the update that changes the way we interact with our handsets. Maybe Siri will change from a feature we'll never use… to one we can't live without. Or, maybe we'll be saying, “No, that's not what I meant” in five years.
