Siri,Iphone's new search tool-DARPA funded.

By now many will have seen information about Apple's new talking search assistant/AI package.
For those who haven't here is the video from Apple:


Will this be the first voice recognition software that actually works properly for a change?
Well that remains to be seen,but if the amount of money pumped into it from DARPA grants has any bearing on the finished product,it should be awesome at its job(not to mention creepy big brother-ish).

Here is how Siri came about:

As it turns out, Siri — the voice-activated data assistant available on Apple’s iPhone upgrade — is a veteran. Nearly 10 years ago, Darpa funded a project known as PAL, for Personalized Assistant that Learns.
It was an adaptive AI program for both data retrieval and data synthesis. (So not entirely like search, but not dissimilar, either.)
If you told PAL what information you needed, and it observed what you did with that information, it would figure out a more efficient path to acquiring and sorting relevant information the next time around.
The project started out with a California company called SRI International. With a five-year, multimillion dollar grant from Darpa under the PAL program, SRI developed a system called CALO, for Cognitive Agent that Learns and Organizes.

By 2008 — with the PAL project not bearing fruit — SRI didn’t want to miss out on the commercial opportunities of iPhone apps. So it spun off a company called Siri Incorporated to develop what became the first iteration of the Siri app — a so-called “do engine” that weaved user preferences with existing web functions to, say, let you know what time the nearest Iron Man showing started. (It wasn’t voice-activated.) Apple thought the Siri’s tech showed promise, so it paid a rumored $150 to $200 million for the company.

www.wired.com...

And here is a promotional video of what "Pal"(the original name for Siri)was intended for:



Interestingly the article claims that the military project did not end up being used by the DoD,but one has to wonder how true that actually is.
Maybe uber secret parts of the military/government do use something similar,just under another name.
Seems a lot of money to throw at a project,only to shut it down..

What do you think-Is this a good thing to have on your Iphone-or is it too creepy for you?

Android has had functional voice recognition since the G1. It has gotten better and better with each new iteration.

Not sure why people continue to buy iPhone's when Android is such more robust and customizable product.

If you have the brains and a few days to learn, you can install a custom OS on your Android phone that is pure AOSP, and avoid any potential evesdropping software. iPhone, on the other hand, all look and act the same and the potential for corporate/government evesdropping is strong.

reply to post by TinkerHaus


This Siri does seem to be "learning"a lot of our likes/dislikes and movement habits-I bet Apple could use the info to make a database on each customer,then of course they sell the info to the highest bidders.

Apart from that aspect of it,I bet it will make peoples brains atrophy even more than sat nav or phone contacts stored on phones.
You know the way it seems to work-once you stop using that part of your brain-it withers away.
Can anyone still remember as many phone numbers as you did BEFORE you had a cell phone?
I know I can't.
Same with sat nav-all those street names and journey routes just evaporate from your memory once you have relied upon a sat nav for a year or two.
I can't help thinking that Siri will end up "thinking" for people-which is simply not good for your brain IMO.
Oh well-not my fault if I was born in the wrong century I suppose.

Another thing that should be considered. Applications like this benefit hugely by being distributed. Assume the consumer is using the lowest tier of the technology that is now being rolled out in a massive beta test arena. The benefits will be seen by all tiers via development and real world testing.

The technology leaps ahead for the developer and I think we can all see the benefits that this type of tech gives the mil+ind complex.

I am wondering how long it will be before this kind of tech is developed to such a degree that it actually reprimands us for being "naughty."
Picture the scene,you are rushing a family member to hospital,and you break the speed limit.
Siri starts up with"You are braking the speed limit,Slow down!"
Followed by "Final Warning!"
Followed by "The police have been informed,and are en route to your destination."

Or how about when they link up other sensors to Siri-
"You have eaten too many calories today,Stop eating!"

You walk past someone who is smoking-
"Warning Environmental Hazard detected!"

This could get to be very intrusive I think.
Of course there may well be positives as well,but I seem to see the negatives in technology-not because I am a negative person,rather from past experiences over the years.

nice post

The amount of information this system collects on the user is second to none.
That can work against the user.
GPS and an AI telling you things is potentially problematic I would have thought.
But hey,this could be the next step.
Or it could be a passing fad.
Time will tell folks.


All depends upon the next CME

Originally posted by TinkerHaus
Android has had functional voice recognition since the G1. It has gotten better and better with each new iteration.

Not sure why people continue to buy iPhone's when Android is such more robust and customizable product.

If you have the brains and a few days to learn, you can install a custom OS on your Android phone that is pure AOSP, and avoid any potential evesdropping software. iPhone, on the other hand, all look and act the same and the potential for corporate/government evesdropping is strong.

edit on 10-10-2011 by TinkerHaus because: i r spell gud

Because we want a product that we don't HAVE to customize. I want it to just work. I want it to work seamlessly with my iPad and my MacBook. And it will.

In the rare case it doesn't work, customer support is unparalleled. Twice, I've had a minor camera issue. I walked into the Apple store and walked out with a brand new replacement phone (I don't have any kind of extended warranty, either.)

For my 13 year old, he wants an iPhone because he can jailbreak it and have fun customizing it his own way. What would be the fun of customizing an Android phone that you didn't have to jailbreak???

I'm a fangirl, and proud of it! :-)

Originally posted by Silcone Synapse
I am wondering how long it will be before this kind of tech is developed to such a degree that it actually reprimands us for being "naughty."
Picture the scene,you are rushing a family member to hospital,and you break the speed limit.
Siri starts up with"You are braking the speed limit,Slow down!"
Followed by "Final Warning!"
Followed by "The police have been informed,and are en route to your destination."

Or how about when they link up other sensors to Siri-
"You have eaten too many calories today,Stop eating!"

You walk past someone who is smoking-
"Warning Environmental Hazard detected!"

This could get to be very intrusive I think.
Of course there may well be positives as well,but I seem to see the negatives in technology-not because I am a negative person,rather from past experiences over the years.

I wouldn't wake up at 3:30 am EST to preorder THAT phone, that's for sure! :-)

will this be on the ios 5 update for iphone 4?

Originally posted by wlasikiewicz
will this be on the ios 5 update for iphone 4?

No,or there would not be the need for the new 4S,Hheheheh.
Do you see?

Originally posted by TinkerHaus
Android has had functional voice recognition since the G1. It has gotten better and better with each new iteration.

Not sure why people continue to buy iPhone's when Android is such more robust and customizable product.

If you have the brains and a few days to learn, you can install a custom OS on your Android phone that is pure AOSP, and avoid any potential evesdropping software. iPhone, on the other hand, all look and act the same and the potential for corporate/government evesdropping is strong.

edit on 10-10-2011 by TinkerHaus because: i r spell gud

Does Android have an app similar to SIRI that can do the stuff in that video? The only voice activated thing I do on my phone is the google voice search. Maybe I am missing out on other features, as I'd love to be able to tell the phone to call a specific person, or to have it dictate a text, etc. I have a Samsung Infuse Android 2.2 (froyo)

^/facepalm.

They won't need to Big brother us.
"We" gonna rush to the store to get monitored and leaves all our privacy to corporations.

I can't really blame people. Every apple gadget looks pretty neat once you lost most of your short and long term memory, The way Apple are running their business is making me puke. They did a few good thing but they rely on VERY DUMB CUSTOMERS to do business, no wonder so many want their products.

@/Synapse.
I totally agree, people rely too much on those gadget, they forget how to think.
Because people say to themselves, "why shoulda remember this information since its 3 clicks away."
They can't express an opinion by themselves, they need to look GaGas tweet before.

Use your head not a smartphone, you will be surprised on how much edge you will gain over ignorant customers.

Originally posted by eagleeye2
I totally agree, people rely too much on those gadget, they forget how to think.
Because people say to themselves, "why shoulda remember this information since its 3 clicks away."
They can't express an opinion by themselves, they need to look GaGas tweet before.

Use your head not a smartphone, you will be surprised on how much edge you will gain over ignorant customers.

This is the nature of the problem friend.
You have hit the nail.
We need to get back our own natural internet.
We had it once upon a time,the natural ability to navigate and even communicate over great distances.
No I am not mad-we once had this ability without having to pay the telecom people.
What have we become?

Check out Vlingo, if you're looking for an Android app with similar capabilities. This is one of many. Another that comes to mind I think is called Edwin. Plenty of voice rec apps out that that will transcribe texts, call a person, search for a place, open an app, etc. You just have to learn the voice commands.

I like learning about and knowing my device. I like not only understanding what's under the hood but being able to modify and customize it. People with stock devices make me chuckle. iPhone or Android device.

I realize that there are people who like the fact that all iPhones are exactly the same. They don't have to learn or do anything. They also can't tell their device apart from another similar device without getting really close. My Android phone has no problem "syncing" with any other device - my tv, my media streamer, my computers, etc. So that's kind of a moot point. I can connect to most anything with a USB port. I can also connect to my server at home and stream all my media to my phone.. Not sure if Apple can do that!

Obviously there is a huge market for a device that is not personal at all. I understand this. Whatever.

And yes, you do have to root and security unlock an Android phone before you can start the real customization.

Anyway, I realize there are tons of iPhone fans, and having used both devices I prefer the customizable challenge that Android offers. I also like having an Android Open Source Project to refer to - no secret software on my phone because I compiled the OS. This was the only point I was trying to make.

Funny it took DARPA so many years and so many dollars to create what the Android Open Source Community created using open source and a community of contributors.