東西 | dongxi

When the iPhone 4S was first announced, the response was less than stellar. The iPhone 4S seemed like a minor upgrade from the iPhone 4, far from the next-gen iPhone 5 models so many had predicted. Still, one of the phone’s new features, Siri, marks a potentially major point in technology. Just as “touch” has drastically changed the way we’ve use our devices, Siri’s voice-based interactions may be the first step in a whole new way we interact with technology in our daily lives.

So what’s Siri? Developed back as early as 2007, Siri is a type of software that works upon voice recognition and comprehension. In short, you speak to Siri and “she” responds to you. In the iPhone 4S, this works for several functions, including weather, maps, contacts, etc., where users can ask to access information. Voice activated control has existed before the iPhone 4S. Google itself via Android, as well as several third party apps, allow users to access apps or information based on voice commands. The difference is that Siri takes it an additional step; rather than very succinct language such as “steakhouse, Midtown,” Siri allows for a more “natural” language such as “I’m in the mood for steaks in Midtown today,” simulating a more natural human conversation.

The ability to access several apps and information is also a major difference. Many voice controlled apps only access a handful of apps: contacts, maps, music. Siri can access weather, stocks, calendar, even alarms. Though it sounds minor, voice commands can potentially remove several steps to what currently exists with a touch interface. Rather than opening an app, finding the alarm setting, dialing each hour, minute, and second, etc., all of it can be done in six to ten words. Not only is it a potential time saver, it nearly removes all of the physical interaction with the device.

What is truly amazing about Siri is its potential outside of the iPhone. Apple can easily construct a device, much like an Apple TV/iPad hybrid, made to live in the living room that would replace or augment nearly every item. The television, music player, game console, SmartTV widgets could all be activated by voice, removing the need for the remote control. Microsoft is already leading the way with voice commands with the Kinect, allowing users to watch TV, movies, etc. through the Xbox. Apple can take it a step further with their extensive reach across multiple media and entertainment channels. Imagine being able to swap between TV shows while asking Siri to book movie tickets for the 8:15 showing of the latest blockbuster or asking for the weather for the day while making a Skype video call on the TV.

There’s definitely going to be learnings to be picked up, as natural language tends to skip all rules found in a textbook. The hardest thing for AI to learn is the idiosyncrasies in our day to day speech. Still, we’ve gone a long way, and it could be just a matter of iterations before we see a future not so far off from what we’ve imagined in sci-fi like Star Trek and Demolition Man.

Tags: apple, computer, future, iphone, iPhone 4S, Siri, Star Trek, voice command, voice control