Two years and a $250 million lawsuit later, Apple's AI assistant Siri is set for a revamp, extending to phones, laptops, and even the mixed reality headset, albeit for a small user base of Apple Vision Pro. At the WWDC keynote, Apple showcased a series of long-awaited AI updates, claiming our hardware is 'built for Apple Intelligence.'
To be honest, it's hard for AI to impress me enough to integrate it into my daily life. I still don't trust LLMs to provide consistently accurate information, find it ethically questionable to use AI for writing, and lack the desire to see myself as a Studio Ghibli character. Yet, the promise of AI occasionally tempts me. Watching Apple's Siri AI demos made me envision a world where my phone has a constantly working assistant who knows everything about me and can help manage conversations across multiple apps.
I want Siri to be my personal 'Emily' from 'The Devil Wears Prada'—a 'second brain' that anticipates my needs before I even know them. I want Siri to create events automatically when a friend and I decide to meet for dinner and to remind me about my prescription when passing by CVS. Although the revamped Siri won't perform all these tasks out of the box, it's moving in the right direction. During WWDC, Apple AI engineering director Justin Titi demonstrated how Siri could find a text message from a month ago about coconut cookies his daughter wanted to make, saving time scrolling through conversations.
The new Siri is designed to leverage 'personal context,' referring to the information you input into Apple-native apps like iMessage, Notes, Calendar, etc. Siri will also be aware of what's on your screen; for instance, if you see a nice park on Instagram, you can ask for its location. It's still unclear whether Siri will integrate with non-native Apple apps, which may depend on developer support.
Apps like Poppy and Poke are already attempting to create this type of mobile, agentic AI. However, the paradox of these personal assistant tools is that you have to give up a lot of personal data and privacy for them to work effectively, which could lead to more trouble. Nevertheless, Apple seems to care more about security than other tech giants. On-device AI will always be more secure and less energy-intensive than cloud computing, as data is processed directly on your phone. Furthermore, Apple pioneered private cloud computing (PCC), allowing devices to parse complex data over the cloud without exposing your data to Apple itself.
I confess that it feels somewhat taboo to want to outsource all my 'life admin' to an AI. As writer Calvin Kasulke pointed out, is everything necessary to delegate to AI? Perhaps I should pay more attention during conversations with friends instead of relying on Siri to remind me. After all, over-reliance on AI may lead to losing essential life skills.
If I choose to opt out of these features, Apple makes that possible. Unlike Google's controversial search overhaul, the new Siri can be toggled on and off, allowing users to decide whether to use it. Until then, I'll have to weigh whether it's worth tasting the forbidden fruit of Siri AI.
Blogger's Review: Apple's Siri redesign showcases the potential of AI assistants while raising concerns about privacy and data security. Despite the promising technology, we must approach personal data usage with caution. The value of AI lies not only in its capabilities but also in balancing technology with humanity. Ultimately, the future AI assistant should be smarter but also more respectful of user privacy.