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The argument is more than that -- namely that in addition to having sophisticated AI, Google also controls the OS (Android) and hardware (Pixel). Being able to

The argument is more than that -- namely that in addition to having sophisticated AI, Google also controls the OS (Android) and hardware (Pixel). Being able to integrate best-in-class AI at every level of the stack is a tremendous advantage. OpenAI can't do this because they don't control the OS, and will always need to go through an app. Apple can play since they control OS and hardware, but at the moment they appear pretty far behind in the AI aspect.

ghayes 3y ago
Is anyone really that far behind on AI given that the newest open-source models are closing in on GPT4?
- simion314 3y ago
  I agree, Apple needs to wait and see what team offers a good alternative to OpenAI and buy them, I hope they do not buy and close an open source friendly team.
poulsbohemian 3y ago
>Apple can play since they control OS and hardware, but at the moment they appear pretty far behind in the AI aspect. I disagree strongly with this, and it has everything to do with how we conceptualize AI. I get in my car and plug in my iPhone. CarPlay immediately causes the Maps app to pop up and route me to my next meeting. I can say "hey siri, set a reminder to call Mr. Jones at 3:00" and she will gladly comply. If my buddy texts me while I'm driving to the meeting and asks if I'm free for golf tomorrow, she will automatically try to pin that on my calendar. I can throw out lots of examples here, but you get the idea. Now granted, voice recognition in Siri has been pretty bad. She struggles with a lot of basic things, like putting on the music I request. But, there's no question in my mind that these augmented reality moments are where AI is actually making a difference in our lives and represent the actual business opportunity bridgeheads. In Apple's case, they not only already control the hardware (the phone, the watch, the earbuds, the tablet) but they've also figured out how to start bridging this into other hardware like a vehicle.
- jeffbee 3y ago
  I suggest you try the assistant features on a Pixel 8 Pro. They have all the features you mentioned (except the creepy eavesdropping golf one) and the interaction is miles ahead, especially the text to speech.
  - plufz 3y ago
    I do not have any Android products, I only use Google Assistant through my Sonos speakers. Do you know if that code is different from that on the Pixel? (Because my experience of Google Assistant is long from good/useful, it struggles with basic tasks, I have to overpronounce to be sure it can differentiate “lights on” from “lights off”, etc etc.)
    - jeffbee 3y ago
      I don't know, because I haven't used Sonos for this purpose. But it's easy to imagine that a mobile handset with an array of microphones that you tend to hold near yourself would be more suited at the hardware level.
- anileated 3y ago
  The impressive ML is ML that’s part of daily life. Even as I tap on this iPhone’s keyboard, button regions (tappable, not visible) slightly change in size depending on what it predicts the next letter would be. No one calls this “AI” yet it’s the same tech, and arguably more beneficial for the society as a whole than “AI” as a dedicated commercial service purpose-built to launder copyrighted creative works for profit (which is what AI is in the eyes of an ordinary person these days).
  - datadrivenangel 3y ago
    And yet the iPhone keyboard has gotten worse than it was a few years ago. I used an iPhone 8 years ago, and when I got an SE last year the keyboard was too smart, and so I disabled all the AI features.
lmm 3y ago
OpenAI has close ties to Microsoft and we've already seen them integrate AI into Bing; MS may not be a player in phones but they make a major OS and some of the best hardware money can buy. I'm really not convinced vertical integration matters all that much, but if it does, they can do it.
- wayfinder 3y ago
  Unsurprisingly, they already integrated OpenAI into Windows. You can ask it questions and pass it files.
willvarfar 3y ago
I'm expecting: * Microsoft to do it for business users * Google pixie does it first for personal use. Android phones might even momentarily be more desirable than iphone * Apple eventually get there, for their walled garden * Amazon etc fall totally behind * And, years later, users of google docs are still waiting for basic AI help writing docs whilst google completely doesn't try in that space
- hef19898 3y ago
  I know that I'm part of a minority, but I'll avoid touching an "AI" enabled smartphone as long as possible. All privacy issues and tech issues aside, so far I have simply not found a single use case in which AI-tools would make my life easier.
  - willvarfar 3y ago
    AI would be much better at code _review_ than code generation. AI would be much better at auto-completing whole sentences and paragraphs and suggesting rephrasing etc in docs and presentations, than at answering questions about the world. But the race seems to be to answer questions about the world based on a 2021 dump of the internet, so ... :)
    - hef19898 3y ago
      Oh, as a tool I see a ton of use: personally for image processing (sharpening, noise reduction) even if I can perfectly live without it, professionally I see a ton of potential use in optimizing planning (supply chain, production, scheduling, netwrok planning...) by proposing scenarios and supporting the people doing said planning. I don't need AI to search the internet for me, summarize a book (if it is worth or important enough for me, I just read it) or all the other stuff AI currently is doing.
  - kolinko 3y ago
    As for privacy - Apple does most, if not all AI processing on-device. E.g. Siri understands voice commands when offline (although may work worse then I think). A good on-device assistant would be super useful: - instead of searching for a setting, you just tell it to change a device setting - decent appointment/reminder setting ("remind me to invite joe to my next birthday party" -> and it knows who Joe is, and how to set up such a reminder) - all kinds of search ("what was that book about startups that someone recommended to me a year ago?", "open up a tracking page for that thing I ordered last week", "show me a photo of XX I took last summer") - managing e-mails the way old-school secretaries did - "any important messages?", or "reply to everyone I'm out of office, unless it's related to X"

ghayes 3y ago

Is anyone really that far behind on AI given that the newest open-source models are closing in on GPT4?

simion314 3y ago
I agree, Apple needs to wait and see what team offers a good alternative to OpenAI and buy them, I hope they do not buy and close an open source friendly team.

poulsbohemian 3y ago

>Apple can play since they control OS and hardware, but at the moment they appear pretty far behind in the AI aspect. I disagree strongly with this, and it has everything to do with how we conceptualize AI. I get in my car and plug in my iPhone. CarPlay immediately causes the Maps app to pop up and route me to my next meeting. I can say "hey siri, set a reminder to call Mr. Jones at 3:00" and she will gladly comply. If my buddy texts me while I'm driving to the meeting and asks if I'm free for golf tomorrow, she will automatically try to pin that on my calendar. I can throw out lots of examples here, but you get the idea. Now granted, voice recognition in Siri has been pretty bad. She struggles with a lot of basic things, like putting on the music I request. But, there's no question in my mind that these augmented reality moments are where AI is actually making a difference in our lives and represent the actual business opportunity bridgeheads. In Apple's case, they not only already control the hardware (the phone, the watch, the earbuds, the tablet) but they've also figured out how to start bridging this into other hardware like a vehicle.

jeffbee 3y ago
I suggest you try the assistant features on a Pixel 8 Pro. They have all the features you mentioned (except the creepy eavesdropping golf one) and the interaction is miles ahead, especially the text to speech.
- plufz 3y ago
  I do not have any Android products, I only use Google Assistant through my Sonos speakers. Do you know if that code is different from that on the Pixel? (Because my experience of Google Assistant is long from good/useful, it struggles with basic tasks, I have to overpronounce to be sure it can differentiate “lights on” from “lights off”, etc etc.)
  - jeffbee 3y ago
    I don't know, because I haven't used Sonos for this purpose. But it's easy to imagine that a mobile handset with an array of microphones that you tend to hold near yourself would be more suited at the hardware level.
anileated 3y ago
The impressive ML is ML that’s part of daily life. Even as I tap on this iPhone’s keyboard, button regions (tappable, not visible) slightly change in size depending on what it predicts the next letter would be. No one calls this “AI” yet it’s the same tech, and arguably more beneficial for the society as a whole than “AI” as a dedicated commercial service purpose-built to launder copyrighted creative works for profit (which is what AI is in the eyes of an ordinary person these days).
- datadrivenangel 3y ago
  And yet the iPhone keyboard has gotten worse than it was a few years ago. I used an iPhone 8 years ago, and when I got an SE last year the keyboard was too smart, and so I disabled all the AI features.

lmm 3y ago

OpenAI has close ties to Microsoft and we've already seen them integrate AI into Bing; MS may not be a player in phones but they make a major OS and some of the best hardware money can buy. I'm really not convinced vertical integration matters all that much, but if it does, they can do it.

wayfinder 3y ago
Unsurprisingly, they already integrated OpenAI into Windows. You can ask it questions and pass it files.

willvarfar 3y ago

I'm expecting: * Microsoft to do it for business users * Google pixie does it first for personal use. Android phones might even momentarily be more desirable than iphone * Apple eventually get there, for their walled garden * Amazon etc fall totally behind * And, years later, users of google docs are still waiting for basic AI help writing docs whilst google completely doesn't try in that space

hef19898 3y ago
I know that I'm part of a minority, but I'll avoid touching an "AI" enabled smartphone as long as possible. All privacy issues and tech issues aside, so far I have simply not found a single use case in which AI-tools would make my life easier.
- willvarfar 3y ago
  AI would be much better at code _review_ than code generation. AI would be much better at auto-completing whole sentences and paragraphs and suggesting rephrasing etc in docs and presentations, than at answering questions about the world. But the race seems to be to answer questions about the world based on a 2021 dump of the internet, so ... :)
  - hef19898 3y ago
    Oh, as a tool I see a ton of use: personally for image processing (sharpening, noise reduction) even if I can perfectly live without it, professionally I see a ton of potential use in optimizing planning (supply chain, production, scheduling, netwrok planning...) by proposing scenarios and supporting the people doing said planning. I don't need AI to search the internet for me, summarize a book (if it is worth or important enough for me, I just read it) or all the other stuff AI currently is doing.
- kolinko 3y ago
  As for privacy - Apple does most, if not all AI processing on-device. E.g. Siri understands voice commands when offline (although may work worse then I think). A good on-device assistant would be super useful: - instead of searching for a setting, you just tell it to change a device setting - decent appointment/reminder setting ("remind me to invite joe to my next birthday party" -> and it knows who Joe is, and how to set up such a reminder) - all kinds of search ("what was that book about startups that someone recommended to me a year ago?", "open up a tracking page for that thing I ordered last week", "show me a photo of XX I took last summer") - managing e-mails the way old-school secretaries did - "any important messages?", or "reply to everyone I'm out of office, unless it's related to X"