Can Kim Vorrath fix what Siri’s been missing?

APPLE

Can Kim Vorrath fix what Siri’s been missing?

Apple is making changes to boost its AI and Siri development by appointing Kim Vorrath to its artificial intelligence and machine learning team.

Vorrath, who has been at Apple for 36 years and recently led the Vision Pro software launch, will now work closely with Apple’s AI leader, John Giannandrea.

Apple announced its AI efforts at last year’s WWDC, but they haven’t made as much impact as tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini.

Progress has been slower than expected, with a major Siri upgrade that can understand on-screen context now likely delayed until iOS 18.4.

Meanwhile, Apple is pausing its AI-powered news summaries in iOS 18.3 after criticism of inaccuracies.

Key points to keep in mind:

• Kim Vorrath joins Apple’s AI team to strengthen development after struggling so far in the AI race.

• Delayed Siri features include improved context understanding in iOS 18.4.

• Apple is focusing on better AI infrastructure and in-house models.

Vorrath’s move highlights Apple’s focus on making AI a bigger part of its future.

A memo from Giannandrea says the team is improving Siri’s systems and upgrading Apple’s AI models.

Another Siri upgrade? Let’s hope it slays this time.