Apple builds internal AI chatbot Veritas ahead of big Siri upgrade – t2ONLINE
Tech
Apple’s digital assistant Siri is expected to receive an overhaul early next year. To prepare, Apple has developed a ChatGPT-like iPhone app ahead of the move. The internal-use chatbot is called Veritas; it can develop, test, and collect feedback on new Siri features such as “search[ing] through personal data, such as songs and emails, and perform in-app actions like editing photos”, according to a report from Bloomberg.
Veritas is Latin for “truth”. In the Apple chatbot, employees type requests and hold conversations, besides revisiting old exchanges to delve deeper into a topic. It may not see a public launch, but it highlights how important artificial intelligence is for Apple’s long-term goals. The revamped Siri is expected to debut in March.
Apple is already offering ChatGPT from OpenAI on its devices with careful control over what the chatbot is permitted to access. It is reported that Apple may rely on Google’s Gemini for its AI-powered search in the coming days.
Earlier this month, a US court decided in an antitrust case that Google will not have to sell its Chrome browser and will also be able to continue making search deals, such as its $20 billion agreement to be the default option in Apple’s Safari browser.
“Cutting off payments from Google almost certainly will impose substantial—in some cases, crippling—downstream harms to distribution partners, related markets, and consumers, which counsels against a broad payment ban,” US judge Amit Mehta said.
Meanwhile, two weeks ago, Microsoft and OpenAI signed a non-binding deal for new relationship terms that would allow OpenAI to proceed to restructure itself into a for-profit company, marking a new phase to fund the ChatGPT frenzy.
Bloomberg also reported that in a recent meeting with staff, CEO Tim Cook said Apple must win in AI. “This is sort of ours to grab,” Cook said. “We will make the investment to do it.”
