 |
How Smart Is Siri?
Siri is smarter than you think, according to analysts who have looked more closely at Apple's new personal assistant software, which is offered with every new iPhone 4S.
(Apple iPhone 4S - Siri personal assistant)
“Early reactions have missed the extent of Siri’s capabilities, perhaps confusing it with mere speech recognition (translating spoken words into text, but not interpreting meaning and executing actions) or simple keyword-based voice response systems (like some in-vehicle systems, where quality has been underwhelming),” analyst Shannon Cross writes.Siri is unique because it meshes voice recognition capabilities with both sophisticated artificial intelligence capabilities and tight integration with the phone’s other software — such as its calendar and address book — and its GPS system. That allows the software to not just recognize a spoken command, but react differently based on where a user is and who the user knows, ask for clarification, and follow a long string of related commands. “Quite simply, we have not seen a demonstration of comparable AI in any other consumer system,” Cross writes.
Frederik Pohl wrote about this very thing. He described the joymaker in his 1965 novel The Age of the Pussyfoot as follows:
Essentially, it is a transponder connecting you with the central computing facilities of the city in which you reside on a shared-time, self-programming basis..."Self-programming" means that the programmed software includes procedures for translating most normal variations of voice, idiom, accent, and other variable modalities into a computer-oriented sim-script and thence into the mathematical expressions on which the computers operate.
Pohl knew that technology like Siri on the iPhone 4S was coming; he wrote "I do not really think it will be that long. Not five centuries. Perhaps not even five decades." In 1965.
Via Siri More Than Speech Recognition, Analyst Asserts.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 10/7/2011)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Communications ")
Face2Face Is Bradbury's Spot-Wavex Scrambler
'A special spot-wavex scrambler also caused his televised image... to mouth the vowels and consonants beautifully.' - Ray Bradbury, 1953.
Tony Stark's Transparent Phone Possible With Graphene?
A nearly unbreakable smartphone - based on graphene.
Needle Beam Propagates Without Spreading
'Direct needlecast from here into a shielded stack...'
Penguin E-Books For Libraries
Read about it on your iPad.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Current News
Spicy Tomatoes Created With Genetic Engineering
How about mashed potatoes and brown gravy?
Driverless Hotel Rooms Predicted In 1828
'Did you never see a moving house before?'
Yandex Self-Driving Taxi Is Very Smooth
'The big car was slowing down, its computer brain sensing an exit ahead.'
Shrimp Actually Made Of Algae Is A New Wave Food
Bring in that crop algae.
Cosplay Style Wings Could Work On Moon
'They're lovely! - titanalloy struts as light and strong as bird-bones...'
Tesla Model 3 Has Outside Speaker Grille
Robert Heinlein does it again.
Arizona Luddites Attack Self-Driving Vehicles
'Trucks don't drive by themselves...' Or do they?
Organaut! Russians 3D Print Living Tissue In Space
'For a while your colonists will have to come up [to orbit] to the Hospital...'
WINE Spacecraft To Extract Water From Asteroids
'Yes, strangely enough there was still sufficient water beneath the surface of Vesta.'
Japanese Swordsmiths Take On Asteroids
'... a tiny, rocket-powered projectile, drove towards the mysterious bulk.'
Saturn's Rings To Vanish, Let's Mine Them While We Can
'...the valuable shards of what had once been satellites.'
Humans Could Take Up A LOT Less Space
We'd have a lot more room for gardening...
Implosion Fabrication Shrinks 3D Objects To Nanoscale
'Carter had watched miniaturization a hundred times...'
GMO Houseplant Cleans Your Air
Removes compounds too small to be captured by a HEPA filter.
Nova Meat Can 3D Print Your Dinner
Printing out chicken nuggets.
MIT Scientists Create 'Peek-a-Boo Prober' From Jetsons
Well, George, it's the latest thing.
