Thursday, October 13, 2011

Siri - Your Personal Assistant


Talking to your phone seems weird now, but critics are raving about Apple iPhone 4s' new voice-powered voice assistant. (that is oddly reminiscent of A Space Odyssey's Hal)

New York Times - "New iPhone Conceals Sheer Magic"
"Speech recognition. Crazy good, transformative, category-redefining speech recognition.

Siri is billed as a virtual assistant: a crisply accurate, astonishingly understanding, uncomplaining, voice-commanded minion. No voice training or special syntax is required.

You can say, “Wake me up at 7:35,” or “Change my 7:35 alarm to 8.” You can say, “What’s Gary’s work number?” Or, “How do I get to the airport?” Or, “Any good Thai restaurants around here?” Or, “Make a note to rent ‘Ishtar’ this weekend.” Or, “How many days until Valentine’s Day?” Or, “Play some Beatles.” Or, “When was Abraham Lincoln born?”

It’s mind-blowing how inexact your utterances can be. Siri understands everything from, “What’s the weather going to be like in Tucson this weekend?” to “Will I need an umbrella tonight?” (She has various amusing responses for “What is the meaning of life?”)"

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