Apple researchers explore dropping “Siri” phrase & listening with AI instead
www.technologyreview.com
Tests aim to see if AI models can determine when you’re speaking to your phone without needing a trigger phrase.

  • Apple researchers are exploring using AI to detect when a user wants to speak to a device like an iPhone, potentially eliminating the need for a trigger phrase like “Hey Siri.”

  • They trained a large language model on speech data and background noise to identify patterns indicating when the user wants assistance from the device.

  • The model showed promising results in accurately predicting when the user wanted to engage the AI assistant.

  • However, removing the “Hey Siri” trigger could raise privacy concerns about devices “always listening” and reduce transparency for users.

  • Apple has previously faced scrutiny over how it handles audio data collected by Siri, including contractors hearing private conversations.

  • The research signals Apple’s plans to incorporate more AI into its products as it is perceived as lagging behind tech giants like Amazon and Google in AI capabilities.

  • Apple is reportedly building its own generative AI model called MM1 and exploring partnerships with Google and Baidu to use their AI models on iPhones.

Summarized by Claude 3 Sonnet