Siri is a digital personal assistant, integrated within Apple device operating systems, that enables Apple device users to get answers to their questions.
Siri is integrated within iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS. Users can customize settings for the virtual assistant, which is automatically integrated within contemporary Apple devices. Siri was released as a stand-alone application for the iOS operating system in February 2010. Siri’s original release on iPhone 4S in 2011 received mixed reviews. It received praise for its voice recognition and contextual knowledge of user information, including calendar appointments, but was criticized for requiring stiff user commands and having a lack of flexibility.
Siri’s speech recognition engine was provided by Nuance Communications, a speech technology company. The speech recognition system makes use of sophisticated machine learning techniques, including convolutional neural networks and long short-term memory.
Upon receiving your request, Siri records the frequencies and sound waves from your voice and translates them into a code. Siri then breaks down the code to identify particular patterns, phrases and keywords. This data gets input into an algorithm that sifts through thousands of combinations of sentences to determine what the inputted phrases means. This algorithm is complex enough that it is capable of working around idioms, homophones and other literary expressions to determine the context of a sentence.
Once Siri determines its request, it begins to assess what tasks need to be carried out, determining whether or not the information needed can be accessed from within the phone’s data banks or from online servers. Siri is then able to craft complete and cohesive sentences relevant to the type of question or command requested.
At this rate, don’t be surprised if holographic personal assistance that you can visualize as well spawn within the next decade. Perhaps the next time you pull Siri up for directions to the grocery store or the occasional philosophical question of the universe, make sure to appreciate all the computing power working behind the scenes to deliver what humans have been doing for years.
BY MAHENDRAN E NOV 14,2021