Apple is exploring the possibility of dropping the phrase "Siri" in favour of artificial intelligence

Apple researchers are considering the prospect of using artificial intelligence to determine when a user is accessing a device, which could eliminate the need to utter the trigger phrase "Hey, Siri."

Here's What We Know

In an unreviewed study uploaded to Arxiv, researchers trained a large language model on speech data and background noise from smartphones. They wanted to teach the AI to recognise patterns indicating that the user wanted to interact with the device.

The results are described as promising. The model was able to make more accurate predictions than audio-only or text-only algorithms. Its accuracy improved as the size increased.

Currently, Siri is only activated after uttering the trigger phrase "Hey, Siri." Doing away with it could reinforce concerns that devices are "always listening," says data privacy expert Jen King.

She notes that such prompts are important to users because they signal that the assistant is switched on and recording speech. The study does not specify whether an alternative notification method will be offered.

Previously, Apple's handling of Siri's audio data has drawn criticism from privacy advocates over the potential leak of sensitive information.

The work is one of the recent signals of Apple's plans to introduce more AI into its products, amid reports of the MM1 generative model and talks of partnerships with Google and Baidu in this area.

Source: Technology Review