Earlier quoted context omitted.
California doesn't believe in non-competes. The state believes that competition is in the public interest and enforcing non-competes would be counter to that.
But what about patents?
Federal law.
Samsung acquires Viv, a next-gen AI assistant built by creators of Apple’s Siri
31–40 of 122 posts
Re: Samsung acquires Viv, a next-gen AI assistant built by creators of Apple’s Siri
#32Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Just look at Google maps. Thousand times better than the default Apple maps No it isn't, they are basically the same for 90% of users.
I'm not talking about the content. Talking about the user experience. It does suck, and I'm not even an Apple hater. I have given up on using the default map for searching anything. Of course the map content itself is the same, but what good is a mobile map if you search for a coffee shop around you in New York and it gives you some grocery store in Scandinavia? I would be forgiving if this happened rarely, but to me…
While this is a war of anecdotes, I can safely say this has never happened to me. If I search for coffee shops around me, I see...coffee shops around me. The new redesign of maps for iOS 10 has -- at least to me -- a much better UX than the current Google Maps app does, also.
Re: Samsung acquires Viv, a next-gen AI assistant built by creators of Apple’s Siri
#33Unfortunately I think it's pretty obvious why they were acquired, so 99% skeptical of their future. They were probably acquired because: 1. They realized just owning the software platform is very limiting (For example they can't compete with Apple no matter how good they are. Just look at Google maps. Thousand times better than the default Apple maps but will never be #1 map app on iOS because people always choose th…
Ironically, I got a contact from a recruiter at Viv recently, and my main concern was that I didn't see how they could succeed unless they were bought by someone else. Either "intelligent assistants" are going to be a fad, or they're going to be a built-in feature: in the first case, the point is moot; in the second, standalone assistants like Viv was will go the way of standalone grammar checkers, i.e., either get bought and integrated or wither away. I agree that the open platform idea just wouldn't be viable; Viv would have to be so much better than Siri or Google Now that users would be willing to not just download it but use it in preference to the fully-integrated AI that came with their device.
Samsung doesn't strike me as a great place to end up, but I suspect they were the only place to end up, practically speaking. It'll be interesting to see if they can really compete against Google Now, though.
Re: Samsung acquires Viv, a next-gen AI assistant built by creators of Apple’s Siri
#34[deleted]
Re: Samsung acquires Viv, a next-gen AI assistant built by creators of Apple’s Siri
#35I wonder if Samsung would ever put this on their Android Phones. I am confident it will not be able to compete with Google Now on the same device. In addition to founders, Viv got a good number of early Siri engineers. From this and other hints I gather its internals are similar to first few versions of Siri. For example, they outsource the Speech component (something Apple still does for several languages). A conseq…
> I wonder if Samsung would ever put this on their Android Phones.
I suspect that may be part of the long-term plan. They already partnered with VoiceBox [0] for some of the services, this seems like a natural expansion into additional services. Possibly sharing leveraging capabilities across both companies.
[0] http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/voicebox-provides-na...
(edit: fixed quoting)
Re: Samsung acquires Viv, a next-gen AI assistant built by creators of Apple’s Siri
#36I wonder if Samsung would ever put this on their Android Phones. I am confident it will not be able to compete with Google Now on the same device. In addition to founders, Viv got a good number of early Siri engineers. From this and other hints I gather its internals are similar to first few versions of Siri. For example, they outsource the Speech component (something Apple still does for several languages). A conseq…
Arguably, it may only have made sense for Samsung to buy Viv if Samsung is planning on ditching Google entirely.
- Google's MADA agreement forbids OEMs from making anything but Google Now/Voice Search the default digital assistant on Android devices with Google Play.
- Google is telling it's hardware partners for Google Home and Google Cast they're forbidden from supporting competing digital assistants.
So, having Viv as a second digital assistant which isn't default on their own devices and doesn't support any of the products Google's does, doesn't make a lot of sense. But if they need something compelling on Tizen to launch an exodus from Google's platform, where the Pixel has just been declared to get a ton of exclusive features they won't have access to... well, that'd be a reason for Samsung to buy Viv.
Re: Samsung acquires Viv, a next-gen AI assistant built by creators of Apple’s Siri
#37The AI platform that wins won't necessarily be the one that provides the most utility. It'll be the one that people bond with emotionally. I'm not talking about you here- I'm talking about teenage girls with self esteem issues, recently landed immigrants working as night janitors, divorcees with drinking problems, and anyone else who needs a friend.
It's a technical challenge now, but in a few years making a good AI will be high art. By a few years I could mean 3 years or 23 years. There's the possibility that dressing an AI assistant up in a personality that asks 'how are you feeling?' could lead us into an uncanny valley that takes a long time to cross.
Re: Samsung acquires Viv, a next-gen AI assistant built by creators of Apple’s Siri
#38Unfortunately I think it's pretty obvious why they were acquired, so 99% skeptical of their future. They were probably acquired because: 1. They realized just owning the software platform is very limiting (For example they can't compete with Apple no matter how good they are. Just look at Google maps. Thousand times better than the default Apple maps but will never be #1 map app on iOS because people always choose th…
won't let another map be the default. It doesn't matter if you have google maps installed, if you click an address apples maps open.
Re: Samsung acquires Viv, a next-gen AI assistant built by creators of Apple’s Siri
#39That reminds me of an interview i saw a few months ago with one of their main guys:
Re: Samsung acquires Viv, a next-gen AI assistant built by creators of Apple’s Siri
#40This is going to be great, The worlds top firms are now in direct competition with each other. Microsoft(Cortana), Amazon(Echo), Apple(Siri), Google(Assistant/Now) and now Samsung with Viv. The possibilites are just endless, the space race netted us a lot of innovation and this should do the same. Competition leads to Innovation
Endless? No. We will have as many incompatible proprietary offerings. That's all.