Behind the Scenes: The True Story of Apple's Siri Shake-Up and AI Struggles

Apple’s Major Siri Overhaul: Behind the Scenes

Apple faced a significant internal shake-up concerning its voice assistant, Siri, following delays in implementing planned upgrades. According to an extensive report by Wayne Ma at The Information, poor leadership and a relaxed culture within the AI/ML group have hindered progress.

• Leadership Issues: Multiple former employees cited Craig Federighi’s software team as more effective compared to the AI/ML group led by John Giannandrea. Robby Walker, in particular, was described as lacking ambition and risk-taking attitude, contributing to a lackluster development pace.
• Culture and Nicknames: The AI/ML group's relaxed culture has earned it the unflattering nickname 'AIMLess,' reflecting internal perceptions of its direction and effectiveness.
• Flawed Demos: At WWDC, Apple demoed Siri features that were not fully developed or tested. Only a visual effect on the iPhone screen when invoking Siri was actually working at the time.
• New Leadership: With Federighi and Susan Prescott Rockwell taking charge, there is renewed optimism within Apple about Siri’s future. The 'Intelligent Systems' team under Federighi has been more successful in delivering AI features.
• Policy Changes: A significant shift includes allowing the use of open-source third-party models for Siri development, moving away from the previous policy of using only internal models.

The report provides a deep dive into Apple’s challenges and potential solutions in advancing its AI capabilities.