Siri might get an AI boost, after testing improvements in tvOS

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Apple is reportedly increasing its AI efforts after recent moves from other companies, and tvOS appears to be the first testing platform for an upgraded Siri.

Google and Microsoft have been including more artificial intelligence technology into their products thanks to OpenAI. Apple could be testing such technology as well, and it starts with tvOS 16.4.

A report on Thursday from 9to5Mac claims evidence of expanded Siri features in the tvOS 16.4 beta, said to be codenamed “Bobcat.” The new framework, called “Siri Natural Language Generation,” starts with using language generation to tell jokes but could also extend to timers.

It’s not proof that Apple plans to create a ChatGPT clone in the form of a chatbot, but Siri may receive more intelligent capabilities for user queries.

Generative AI refers to algorithms that can create content such as audio, images, text, and videos. For example, Siri currently relies upon a database of known information but isn’t capable of creating anything in response to a user’s question.

Former Apple engineer John Burkey recently said that upgrading Siri required engineers to rebuild the entire database, and the process could take up to six weeks. But generative capabilities might help Siri provide information more quickly, though Burkey doesn’t believe that Siri will become a chatbot like ChatGPT.

Apple is likely feeling pressure from the popularity of OpenAI and ChatGPT. It held an in-person event about artificial intelligence in February, its first such summit in years.

So far, Apple has reportedly released the new AI features to tvOS. If the rumor is true, the company will likely expand the technology to the rest of its operating systems.