USA TODAY International Edition
WE EXPECT MORE THAN AN AI NUGGET FROM WHIZ- BANG APPLE
SAN FRANCISCO We’ve been here before, crammed in a luxurious theater, music pulsating, fellow reporters tweeting, anxiously awaiting Apple’s vision to match the razzle- dazzle from recent Facebook and Google events.
At WWDC, Apple’s annual conference for software developers, there was a fleeting flash Monday of what it has in store for the “it” technology of the moment: artificial intelligence.
For several minutes during a two- hour presentation, Apple offered a glimpse into its immediate plans for Siri, the voice- activated agent that stands to get more relevant with better AI. Siri will be able to scan Apple TV for genre- specific movies, Apple execs said. It will book rides on Uber and Lyft and make payments via Square Cash and others. And soon Siri will assist in VOIP calling.
Encouraging, yes. But merely a glimmer into Apple’s AI plans after its rivals laid out ambitious road maps for the next several years during their recent developer conferences.
The incremental progress report is what we’ve come to expect from Apple, whose CIA- like culture has been on full display at iPhone announcements, where news is parceled out like precious pieces of gold.
Today was much the same with AI. Despite its importance to the nearly 5- year- old Siri’s — and the company’s — goals, we’ve heard little about what role it will play.
As AI goes, so too may Apple. An improved Siri, with enhanced AI capabilities, could transform iPhone and other Apple devices into voice- activated controllers for apps. Developers would un- doubtedly lap it up.
Apple’s secrecy is understandable, and it may have some dazzling tricks in store soon. But was Apple’s news Monday enough, with its rivals circling like sharks? Hardly. Some of it was genuinely cool, but it had the whiff of being me- too stuff — expressive emoji bubbles were part of Google’s I/ O demo in May, for instance — and there was nary a word about virtual reality.
While Google and Facebook shoot for the moon( shots), the good folks from Cupertino, Calif., dispense dollops of technology news on their terms.
Silicon Valley companies now openly share their long- range goals — whether it be Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg articulat- ing the next decade’s vision at the F8 conference or Google CEO Sundar Pichai offering insight into that company’s designs at the Google I/ O conference.
Facebook ( chat box for Messenger), Google ( Home, a voiceactivated speaker powered by AI), Amazon ( Echo, another voice- activated, AI- powered device) and others increasingly are laying out product directions for the next several years for AI, virtual and augmented reality.
Technology blueprints from Google and Facebook were disclosed to software and hardware developers eager to get a jump on future directions, and timing, at each company. Developers are the ecosystem for creating the apps and services that fuel the growth of computing platforms, such as Android, iOS and Windows.
“Is the fact that Apple is secretive vs. others hurt it in the marketplace with developers?” asks Glen Coates, CEO of Handshake, an iOS developer of software that lets wholesale businesses sell online. “It depends on the app, but the concern is understandable.”
It may have been cool to be tight- lipped during the Steve Jobs era, but Byzantine secrecy in tech has grown passé. The tactic worked swimmingly with commodity products like iPhone until too many nominal upgrades landed Apple in its current situation — declining smartphone sales in a saturated market.
At times, Apple has offered a sneak peek into its product horizon. With little fanfare, it created a fabulously successful hybrid with the App Store, where more than 2 million apps now reside. It just invested $ 1 billion in Didi, a ride- hailing service that is wildly popular in China, presaging a likely move into the auto market. And it has redesigned the look and feel of the Apple Store. All the while, it is assuredly talking to developers about its forthcoming plans.
Yet in an era where Google, Facebook and others increasingly shoot for the moon and aren’t afraid to share their ambitions, Apple’s relative silence is not golden.
It may have been cool to be tight- lipped during the Steve Jobs era, but Byzantine secrecy in tech has grown passé.