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Apple Is Working on a Dedicated Chip to Power AI on Devices

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Re: Apple Is Working on a Dedicated Chip to Power AI on Devices

#101

Post by savoytruffle »

LrnByTeach wrote: post #89
RandomBK wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not if you put it that way. Apple can simply make new AI features exclusive to newer phones with updated versions of the chips. If they open the chip up to developers, this effect can spill out to the app store. That would then provide the impetus to push consumers to upgrade.

You nailed the Apple plan, they did exact same thing staring from Introduction of Siri (4S?), ... then Force Touch etc. With each iteration of phone, they add a shiny new feature that is ONLY available on the newer model.

Siri was only available on new iPhones from then on, but it's now available on regular Macintoshes going back like 7-8 years.

Re: Apple Is Working on a Dedicated Chip to Power AI on Devices

#102

Post by mathieuh »

midhunsezhi wrote: post #98
yalogin wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is your basis for this? Am curious.

Siri vs Google assistant. Google assistant being way better in understanding voice and performing tasks. I've used both iPhone and Pixel and I can confirm that Google assistant is way more smart and intelligent than Siri at this point.

Don't know why you're being downvoted, this has been my experience too. Siri feels more like a toy with its infuriating jokes and stunted capabilities, Google Assistant feels much more polished.

I have confidence that attempting a command I've never tried before with Google Assistant will work, with Siri it's potluck.

Re: Apple Is Working on a Dedicated Chip to Power AI on Devices

#104

Post by moonforeshot »

LrnByTeach wrote: post #89
RandomBK wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not if you put it that way. Apple can simply make new AI features exclusive to newer phones with updated versions of the chips. If they open the chip up to developers, this effect can spill out to the app store. That would then provide the impetus to push consumers to upgrade.

You nailed the Apple plan, they did exact same thing staring from Introduction of Siri (4S?), ... then Force Touch etc. With each iteration of phone, they add a shiny new feature that is ONLY available on the newer model.

i don't see how force touch can be added to older hardwares...

Re: Apple Is Working on a Dedicated Chip to Power AI on Devices

#105

Post by moonforeshot »

LrnByTeach wrote: post #89
RandomBK wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not if you put it that way. Apple can simply make new AI features exclusive to newer phones with updated versions of the chips. If they open the chip up to developers, this effect can spill out to the app store. That would then provide the impetus to push consumers to upgrade.

You nailed the Apple plan, they did exact same thing staring from Introduction of Siri (4S?), ... then Force Touch etc. With each iteration of phone, they add a shiny new feature that is ONLY available on the newer model.

i don't see how force touch can be added to older hardwares...

Re: Apple Is Working on a Dedicated Chip to Power AI on Devices

#106

Post by TechRomancer »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #86
jchw wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pretty sure they announced during I/O that they were working on making a TPU for mobile.

Do you have a link? I don't remember this, and I didn't find anything through googling.

I'm definitely doubting myself now. I remember watching the keynote and thinking how they didn't make a bigger deal out of the on device chip.

The only thing similar I can find is at about 1:22:00 in the keynote here https://youtu.be/Y2VF8tmLFHw but all he actually says is "silicon specific accelerators".

So honestly at this point it could mean anything.

Re: Apple Is Working on a Dedicated Chip to Power AI on Devices

#107

Post by xxgreg »

TechRomancer wrote: post #106
hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have a link? I don't remember this, and I didn't find anything through googling.

I'm definitely doubting myself now. I remember watching the keynote and thinking how they didn't make a bigger deal out of the on device chip. The only thing similar I can find is at about 1:22:00 in the keynote here https://youtu.be/Y2VF8tmLFHw but all he actually says is "silicon specific accelerators". So honestly at this point it could mean anything.

Related:

"Google has clearly committed to this vision of AI on the phone. At I/O, the company also unveiled a custom-built chip for both training and running neural networks in its data centers. I asked Google CEO Sundar Pichai if the company might build its own mobile chip along the same lines. He said the company had no plans to do so, but he didn’t rule it out either. “If we don’t find the state-of-the-art available on the outside,” he said, “we try to push it there.”"

"Companies such as Intel are already working on this kind of mobile AI processor."

https://www.wired.com/2017/05/google-really-wants-put-ai-poc...

Edit - also:

"There’s already one mobile processor with a machine learning-specific DSP on the market today. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 system-on-a-chip sports the Hexagon DSP that supports TensorFlow. DSPs are also used for providing functionality like recognizing the “OK, Google” wake phrase for the Google Assistant, according to Moorhead."

http://www.pcworld.com/article/3197412/mobile/heres-how-goog...

Re: Apple Is Working on a Dedicated Chip to Power AI on Devices

#108

Post by _pmf_ »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #80
wklauss wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> From the manufacturers point of view phones not being future proof is a feature, not a bug, that way you'll upgrade to that new shiny item which will keep the profits rolling in. I don't think a better AI chip will be a convincing argument to change a phone one year later.

I think you underestimate the power of marketing.

> I think you underestimate the power of marketing.

With Steve Jobs gone, Apple is more and more seen as the emperor without clothes[0] that it is.

[0] I.e. yet another rebrander of Chinese goods with marginal differences from other franchises

Re: Apple Is Working on a Dedicated Chip to Power AI on Devices

#109

Post by ojosilva »

I think the general availability of TPUs is an important inflection point in the path to AI popularization, abd, who knows, some type of singularity event. Definitely a milestone in 21st century history.

But I can't resist making a parallel between evolving TPUs and how the CPU found in the arm of the T800 changed history (negatively) forever in the Terminator universe.

Re: Apple Is Working on a Dedicated Chip to Power AI on Devices

#110

Post by had2makeanacct »

midhunsezhi wrote: post #98
yalogin wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is your basis for this? Am curious.

Siri vs Google assistant. Google assistant being way better in understanding voice and performing tasks. I've used both iPhone and Pixel and I can confirm that Google assistant is way more smart and intelligent than Siri at this point.

Wired recently did a test on major AI assistants with different accents and Google Assistant won every round (they gave the first round to siri for some reason but if you watch the video Assistant clearly won that round too)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNx0huL9qsQ

It was astonishing how right Assistant can be

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