Today I noticed that Microsoft announced Copilot, which in my words is and AI Assistant integrated in all the Microsoft apps, including outlook and teams.
I already use Bing Chat to search for things around the web and generate some replies to some rather complex conversations where my creativity isn’t helping anymore.
Now with copilot they go a step further into productivity by actually having an assistant that looks into your documents, generates text based on your content, summarizes emails or meetings, does complex excel tasks with simple prompts and more.
I don’t know if it’s just me but apple has been quite silent in this regard. I know almost for sure they aren’t going to enter into the search engine market, but what about this new ai assistant market?
At the moment all I can say as a nerd and geek is that I can’t wait to put my hands on copilot. Bing chat has been really fun to use.
I don’t think Apple will be able to avoid integrating AI into its products… it is about to become ubiquitous. However, Apple’s track record hasn’t been great… even the rather unintelligent Siri has lagged well behind its competitors.
Microsoft has stolen a march on this… Not only is the technology it is using best of breed, but it seems to have been planning integration with its products for some time. The implications for its corporate customers in particular could be huge.
Google will have to catch up or risk losing its core business, which in turn may have interesting implications for AI in Android devices.
Above all, AI is a marketing phrase. Apple has been calling their AI efforts Machine Learning (ML) in the past. And this is a more honest name for what we are talking about, as far as I am concerned.
Siri has lagged and still is lagging. One of the reasons might be the emphasis on privacy, which I appreciate. Because of that Siri is the only “assistant” I am using. It has to get better, for sure. I still think that it will get better.
I am quite sure that Apple will continue to use “AI” in the future. It will be interesting to see if they relabel their ML to AI in order to jump on the buzz word train. Software is able “to learn” using patterns and what not and of course using giant data sources enabling the emulation of (human) intelligence. Software is able to become more “smart” and it has to - given the resources available these days and the horse power being available both in our devices and “in the cloud”.
Siri Suggestions are pretty useful - learning what apps I used based on (I presume) time of day and location. You are right to point out there are elements of this in the OS already. I don’t use Siri “proper”… while it may be more private, I don’t generally find it helpful.
GPT-4 is an order of magnitude more sophisticated than anything we’ve seen before (in the consumer space at least). We can be pretty certain that it will bring changes to applications way beyond anything we’ve seen and it will be interesting to see how Apple embraces it. The ability to. tell Outlook I want to write a letter to my local authority to complain about the recurring drainage problem and just have it do it will be game changing. Heck, it created a functional website based on a napkin sketch. Microsoft is already baking that straight into Windows.
Yes, Apple is almost certain to integrate AI going forward. But in what form?
And Google is releasing similar technology. But both Microsoft and Google have existing cross platform business applications that are widely used by millions. Apple does not.
Yes, up to now Apple has insisted on doing everything on device. Meanwhile, Microsoft has created a massive computing platform for OpenAI. And Google’s AI platforms, like LaMDA that will power Bard, also run on large cloud based systems.
I wouldn’t think of betting against Apple, but Siri and dictation has degraded to the point I no longer even try to use it. Two years ago the Verge wrote “After a decade as Apple’s assistant, Siri still hasn’t figured out the job”.
Maybe it’s time for Apple to hint about what they might have behind the curtain.
Balancing out all interests is not easy. I am one of those guys that heavily rely on and demand respecting privacy, even if this leads to a degraded experience when using a digital “assistant” (yes, that’s how I roll). There are other points of view and that is fine.
We are living in interesting times. I am confident that Apple knows about the importance of ML / “AI”. Being first with announcements does not mean that others will not follow up with similar or maybe even better ones in the future. Getting it right is important. I am not 100% sure that Apple will be able to do so, but the verdict is out on this one. All this is just getting started.
Apple will come up with something into that direction, IF it is working to the standard Apple it trying to achieve.
I can’t imagine Apple, like MS just does a couple of weeks ago, to made themself’s to fools by presenting an “AI” that is plangently lying, as their new product!
ChatGPT was announced on 11/30/22 and the world’s largest software provider is already releasing a commercial product. If it is only slightly successful in six months MS will have a gold mine of information on how businesses are using/ trying to use the product. This isn’t a new laptop with a 200 hour battery. This is a product that learns from the information presented to it.
I don’t doubt it. I just can’t think of what that could be.
Apple did not release the first computer. It did not release the first phone. It did not release the first tablet. It did not release the first smart watch. But when they did it, they did a pretty good job with all of those devices.
Then again, you are absolutely right:
Absolutely. And I am confident that all those iPhone users, Mac users, iPad users and so on will be able to present a lot of information to whatever Apple will bring to the table in the future. I have no idea what we will see from Apple in this matter, but I am still confident that Apple understands the importance of AI / ML especially given the rumors of their VR / AR efforts.
Absolutely. I am very pleased with Microsoft 365. I do not see anyone being a really serious competitor in this space right now. Even without ML / AI. I am hesitant saying so in a community like this, but Microsoft owns the business area in the area Microsoft 365 is positioned in. And their vision for this segment looks very interesting, to say the least. They apparently have a very good vision how to implement ML / AI in their core business.
Apple has not yet presented us with their vision to implement this technology for their core business. I have a hard time believing that ChatGPT’s announcement was the starting point for Microsoft’s efforts in ML / AI. And I am quite sure that also Apple is very well aware of this technology. I do not think that the future will be that Apple will do everything what Microsoft is doing and vice-versa. They all need to find their place in their market.
The fundamental question is where Apple sees itself in the future. They have not told us so far. They will. The Apple way. When they are ready.
All of this stuff is great if you’re a Fortune 500 Company.
Copilot fixes the trivial solutions that SMB faces. Insular software ecosystems always deliver great demos but in the real world you need data portability. The financial part of your company uses its own system, your have resource management, supply chain, support and a myriad of other needs depending on the vertical.
For me to trust Microsoft Tools they need more time to prove that the Mac is a first class citizen. For every Microsoft product there is another company that delivers arguably a better experience and AI frosting isn’t going to sway me from looking at equal or superior solutions.
I think they would only have been made fools had MS not made clear that there can be inaccurate results as the service is in beta.
I just used Google for a rather specific enquiry relating to my line of work. Its featured snippet was inaccurate nonsense.
They’re getting much better, but still have a bit to go vs. the experience on Windows. For me personally I’ve tried just about every tool going and settled back on Microsoft 365 as the best all round tool for my own needs and working with others at a reasonable cost. Mileage will vary - even on Windows other vendors will often be the best solution.
Of course, they all overlap into each other’s areas. But this is what they’re about at their core, and what they’re best at. So it makes sense that Microsoft will be the first to integrate AI. I predict Google will do it next to support search, and finally Apple will do it to support its hardware.
What you say makes a lot of sense. I’ll end up installing office products in my Mac, iPad and iPhone; while at the same time I enjoy apple’s ecosystem.
That was a great comment. I agree with what you say. Apple takes some time, but they release high quality products. At least, that’s what I think is in the mind of a consumer when they think of apple.
