acm-header
Sign In

Communications of the ACM

ACM News

How AI Is Taking Over Our Gadgets


View as: Print Mobile App Share:
A purple Apple iPhone 12.

Were witnessing a turning point for artificial intelligence, as more of it comes down from the clouds and into our smartphones and automobiles.

Credit: Apple

If you think of AI as something futuristic and abstract, start thinking different.

We're now witnessing a turning point for artificial intelligence, as more of it comes down from the clouds and into our smartphones and automobiles. While it's fair to say that AI that lives on the "edge"—where you and I are—is still far less powerful than its datacenter-based counterpart, it's potentially far more meaningful to our everyday lives.

One key example: This fall, Apple's Siri assistant will start processing voice on iPhones. Right now, even your request to set a timer is sent as an audio recording to the cloud, where it is processed, triggering a response that's sent back to the phone. By processing voice on the phone, says Apple, Siri will respond more quickly. This will only work on the iPhone XS and newer models, which have a compatible built-for-AI processor Apple calls a "neural engine." People might also feel more secure knowing that their voice recordings aren't being sent to unseen computers in faraway places.

From The Wall Street Journal
View Full Article

 


 

No entries found

Sign In for Full Access
» Forgot Password? » Create an ACM Web Account