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Apple is experimenting with a new natural language generation technology, codenamed “Bobcat”, for Siri. The latest tvOS 16.4 beta includes a new framework for Siri’s natural language generation capabilities, but for now, this technology is only being tested on the Apple TV.
Apple is testing how language generation could improve timers and jokes on the Apple TV. However, code for these features is included across various Apple products, such as iPhone, iPad, Mac, HomePod, and Apple TV, but they are not currently enabled on any other product except Apple TV.
According to a recent report by The New York Times, Apple engineers are testing “language-generating concepts”, which corroborates the findings about Siri’s new technology.
This AI technology could significantly improve Siri’s existing capabilities, but it is not akin to chatbots like ChatGPT. Apple has no timeline for when it will expand this technology beyond Apple TV, but it is quietly beta-testing its first foray into this sort of AI technology.
Currently, Siri is based on templates and not on any language-generating AI. This has led to significant engineering and scaling challenges for Siri over the last decade. These features could have a server-side component enabling or disabling the feature, allowing Apple to fine-tune testing in public.
While there is no immediate plan to expand this language-generating technology beyond Siri, Apple could eventually expand this technology in the future.
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The Bobcat technology is Apple’s first step toward improving Siri’s abilities using natural language generation, and the company is taking its time to make sure it gets it right before expanding the technology to other products.
