Microsoft’s investment in ChatGPT, which could be as high as USD$10B, has drawn a new battle line. And while Google has come up with its own “please don’t forget us” announcement of Google Bard, the focus has been on how search will be changed by AI’s ability to answer questions. But Siri could get a huge boost if it could leverage ChatGPT or something like it.
For most of the last 20 years, search has been about presenting a list of links. But Bing and Google are promising to bolster that by also providing answers to questions. So, when you ask those search engines for information about a topic, you’ll get a written answer as well as some corroborating or related links. It’s a nice step forward, notwithstanding that generative AI tools need to be constantly updated with new training data in order to deliver relevant information.
When we look at how Siri is used, there are two main uses. We either ask Siri to do something. For example “Hey Siri, set a timer.” But we also ask Siri to tell us things like “Hey Siri, what’s the easiest scone recipe?”.Siri isn’t too bad delivering to facts but it does seem to lean heavily on Wikipedia. As Microsoft, Google and others start to leverage generative AI, which is able to create responses that are based on multiple data sources, Siri’s limitations will become increasingly apparent.
ChatGPT, Google Bard (despite an embarrassing mistake during its reveal) and the next generation of these tools are being seen as ways to supercharge online search. Already, academia is reacting by with some universities allowing students to use AI-generated research as long as it is properly cited and referenced. But the ability for ChatGPT and its ilk to change how distal assistant technology, like Siri, works is significant.
It would be unwise to completely bet against Apple. But the road to creating a tool that competes with ChatGPT and Google Bard is long. When Apple decided to develop its own Maps application, it suffered a humiliating backdown as its software was vastly inferior to Google Maps. It was forced to offer paid apps from Google’s competitors for free until it got its own house in order. No doubt it has learned from that lesson and when it does boost its generative AI capability it won’t release a half-baked product.
The investments Apple has made in the development of the Neural Engine hardware tells us Apple is serious about the use of AI. And it’s possible Apple has its own generative AI capability but is keeping it under wraps. I suspect more will be revealed mid-year at the annual World Wide Developer Conference, when Apple reveals its software plans for the next year and hints at what is ti come beyond that.
But with new AI tools now widely available, Apple needs to step up its game or it will find itself pushed back to AI irrelevance.
Anthony is the founder of Australian Apple News. He is a long-time Apple user and former editor of Australian Macworld. He has contributed to many technology magazines and newspapers as well as appearing regularly on radio and occasionally on TV.