Has Apple Lost the AI Race with Siri? Top Engineers Defect to Google for Large Language Models
As the race for artificial intelligence (AI) heats up, technology giant Apple is losing ground. Three top engineers working on ChatGPT-like technology have left the company for Google, indicating Apple’s AI efforts and Siri are struggling. The engineers, Srinivasan Venkatachary, Steven Baker, and Anand Shukl, left Apple for Google late last year, believing it was a better place to work on large language models.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai poached the engineers after rejecting Apple CEO Tim Cook’s efforts to keep them. The loss of these engineers is a significant blow to Apple, which has been attempting to strengthen its AI credentials and improve Siri.
Apple’s AI Efforts and Struggle with Siri
Apple has been attempting to improve its AI capabilities, but Siri has been seen as weaker than its rivals, with a Reddit forum dedicated to its flaws. Former Apple engineer John Burkey claimed last month that Siri’s design was clunky and hard to update, putting it behind ChatGPT. OpenAI, Microsoft, and Google are all increasing their focus on consumer-grade AI, making Siri’s weakness more apparent.
According to former Apple employees, “organizational dysfunction and a lack of ambition” have been significant obstacles to the company’s aspirations to become a serious AI player. Apple’s reluctance to take risks with AI and Siri is another problem, as top executives at Apple are worried about seeing the company’s software make headline-worthy gaffes that could damage its public image.
Investor interest in AI is growing, with Bill Gates describing it as “as revolutionary as mobile phones and the internet.” However, critics have warned about the issues around misinformation, potential misuse, and bias in generative AI. Siri’s responses are typically reviewed and edited by humans, making its approach to AI more cautious and slower than its competitors.
Developers working on the Apple VR headset reportedly became so frustrated with Siri that they considered building alternative methods for controlling the headset with voice technology. Apple has struggled to keep employees crucial to Siri’s development and has lost individuals to Google, including Srinivasan Venkatachary, Steven Baker, and Anand Shukla.
Possible Solutions for Siri
While Apple seems set to remain focused on delivering actual, physical products that trump the competition, Siri is not being left to fall by the wayside completely. Instead, iOS 17 is expected to bring a handful of improvements. For example, the upcoming update is rumored to shift Siri’s on-screen interface away from the bottom of the iPhone’s screen and into the Dynamic Island.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, users may soon only need to say “Siri” instead of “Hey Siri” when activating the personal assistant. However, getting Siri to function correctly without the “Hey” has been a technical challenge requiring significant AI training and underlying engineering work.
Bolstering Siri with tools like ChatGPT could provide the best of both worlds. Siri could be integrated with a more advanced AI system, which could help it compete with its rivals. Apple could benefit from the large-scale AI research of Google and other companies while retaining control of its virtual assistant.
Apple’s struggles with AI development and Siri’s weaknesses are becoming increasingly apparent.
While iOS 17 is expected to bring a handful of improvements to Siri, such as shifting its on-screen interface and allowing users to activate it without saying “Hey Siri,” getting Siri to function correctly without the “Hey” has been a significant technical challenge. Bolstering Siri with tools like ChatGPT could provide the best of both worlds, but only time will tell if Apple can catch up with the competition.
