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Apple is struggling to become an AI powerhouse

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Re: Apple is struggling to become an AI powerhouse

#241

Post by tovkal »

shostack wrote: post #232
Osmium wrote: post #18

On a technical point, I was impressed by their CoreML model format. The specification is open, optimized for maximum transferability, it can convert models from Keras (with TensorFlow), scikit-learn and others, and their Python model converter is also open source: https://pypi.python.org/pypi/coremltools Once you have your model as a CoreML file, it is stupidly simple to incorporate it into an app (the live demo with…

Apparently you can only view that video in Safari or the wwdc app. That's awful.

There's a Chrome extension that allows you to see the videos: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/wwdchrome/lohmkcog...

Re: Apple is struggling to become an AI powerhouse

#242

Post by newscracker »

pwython wrote: post #51
macinjosh wrote: post #3

I am an Apple fanboy but I am also a privacy fanboy. As AI, IoT, and consumer tracking continue to invade our daily lives I think Apple will continue to do quite well if they maintain there pro-privacy heading. Privacy is a feature, it's something people want, and unfortunately its becoming a luxury. That is something that attracts Apple's customers.

I'm one of the few in the "tech world" that isn't so much pro-privacy. Google can read my email, Apple can track my movements, my Amazon Echo can even listen in when it wants. The end result is a huge benefit to me. How is any AI supposed to know what I want, if I try to be an anonymous user? I prefer targeted ads. I prefer submitting my information to "robots" in the hopes that my user experience is tailored to what…

> I see all of these articles on HN on how to break free from Google or some other eco-system because they're "evil." I dunno, I guess I don't have a CIA-level job that most of these commenters have where they need to be off the grid.

As a highly pro-privacy person, I find it ridiculous when people build up arguments like "I guess I don't have a (sic) CIA- level job that most of these commenters have...". Seriously, privacy is not just about you or me! It's about every human in this world, and the balance of power between layperson/citizen and state/corporation. Without protections like privacy (which is one among many), we'd never enjoy all the freedoms we take for granted every single moment. I'd strongly recommend reading this short and succinct article titled "Privacy protects the bothersome" [1] by Martin Fowler.

[1]: https://www.martinfowler.com/articles/bothersome-privacy.htm...

Re: Apple is struggling to become an AI powerhouse

#243

Post by lqdc13 »

sjwright wrote: post #213
lqdc13 wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Weren't such permissions made explicit when the app was installed? I'm not worried about SMS because everyone and their mother can see it now. I don't think apps that didn't require contacts during installation could access them. To me all Apple products are a usability nightmare. I am forced to do simple things the way Apple wants me to do them instead of the way I want to do them.

Or you could say: To me all Android products are a usability nightmare. I am forced to do simple things the way Google wants me to do them instead of the way I want to do them. That line of reasoning just doesn't scale. Like only learning to type on a Dvorak keyboard, doing things "your way" can have consequences. Rampant, arbitrary customisation of interfaces is, in my estimation, more often than not an exercise in…

Completely agree with you on the interface front.

I gave up on interface consistency though because every app now has its own interface and vendors like Samsung have their own for each product.

I miss the old days of windows apps with consistent menus and obvious ways to use the programs. Now it's like playing some sort of text RPG where you have to try everything to figure out where some setting is.

The problem I have with apple is that things are not there because "art". Google is also very much guilty of it. But at least they don't copy all the apple problems and usually expose more of the internal workings of things than apple does.

Re: Apple is struggling to become an AI powerhouse

#244

Post by snarf »

eric_b wrote: post #84

I've still not seen any AI that really gets me excited. Google Now does some neat things - but if the home automation products from Amazon and Google are representative of the state-of-the-art - we have an awful long way to go before AI is any kind of game changer. More likely AI/ML is another trip down buzzword lane. It can hang out with IoT, VR, Big Data, and hell, even containers and microservices. It feels like e…

I, too, don't get the hype about voice assistants. There are a few uses cases where they may be genuinely useful like if you are driving and don't want to take your hands off the wheel, but for nearly everything else, it is usually faster, more accurate, and more reliable to use a GUI with touch or a keyboard.

Re: Apple is struggling to become an AI powerhouse

#245

Post by newscracker »

LA_Banker wrote: post #74
pwython wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm one of the few in the "tech world" that isn't so much pro-privacy. Google can read my email, Apple can track my movements, my Amazon Echo can even listen in when it wants. The end result is a huge benefit to me. How is any AI supposed to know what I want, if I try to be an anonymous user? I prefer targeted ads. I prefer submitting my information to "robots" in the hopes that my user experience is tailored to what…

I'm ceaselessly amused by the folks fearing Amazon Echos or Google Homes as though they're constantly listening microphones sent to the NSA. As though we don't already carry devices on our person everywhere we go that have mics (smartphones). Also, while we trade our privacy to Google (or Amazon, or whomever) in exchange for customization and convenience (a social contract I'm generally happy to sign off on), those c…

> I'm ceaselessly amused by the folks fearing Amazon Echos or Google Homes as though they're constantly listening microphones sent to the NSA. As though we don't already carry devices on our person everywhere we go that have mics (smartphones).

> ...

> Are there still problems with this model? Sure. If the government decides to subpoena Google on me, they'll turn over my Gmail.

It seems to me like you've read about the Snowden revelations but don't see any issues with warrantless tapping and mass surveillance. As I said in another comment, privacy is not just about you or me. It's about all humans and the rights that we have granted ourselves in many countries around the world.

Re: Apple is struggling to become an AI powerhouse

#246

Post by newscracker »

TheOtherHobbes wrote: post #146
threeseed wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You really don't get it do you. Most of us aren't worried about Amazon and Google per se but rather what happens to our data when (a) they are compromised and (b) government surveillance increases in scope. There have been countless incidents (and these will only increase in frequency) where people's sensitive information have been stolen and used for blackmail and identity fraud. There is also the increasing use of…

The problem isn't really privacy, it's privacy asymmetry. Would Facebook agree to make all of their employee web searches public? Would Google? How about all phone traffic? Emails? Thought experiment: imagine a world where everyone can see what everyone else is doing all of the time. Assume absolutely no exceptions or restrictions. You can eavesdrop on anyone in the world. Anyone can eavesdrop on you. How many "I am…

> It's an extreme thought experiment to highlight how asymmetric the current model is. In the current model privacy is becoming a privilege that is available more and more selectively.

Slightly tangential to this topic, your comment reminded me of this short talk titled "Your smartphone is a civil rights issue" by Christopher Soghoian. [1] It truly is a great privilege to be able to control one's privacy in today's world (to whatever extent it is possible).

[1]: https://www.ted.com/talks/christopher_soghoian_your_smartpho...

Re: Apple is struggling to become an AI powerhouse

#247

Post by angus-prune »

jayd16 wrote: post #195
old-gregg wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are making two assumptions that aren't necessarily true. First, you're assuming that you have control over what kind of information is being collected and shared, and you're assuming it's always good for you. Here's a fairly innocent scenario: if Amazon Echo can learn everything about you, they may discover that you're crazy about Paris and you have good income. Then they can sell this info to every travel websit…

Are we imagining a future where sellers can track our every want but consumers lose the ability to shop around? Why wouldn't market forces and competition protect us from this?

This already happens and has been going on for a decade. https://www.theguardian.com/money/blog/2010/aug/07/computer-...

Re: Apple is struggling to become an AI powerhouse

#248

Post by fivestar »

pwython wrote: post #51
macinjosh wrote: post #3

I am an Apple fanboy but I am also a privacy fanboy. As AI, IoT, and consumer tracking continue to invade our daily lives I think Apple will continue to do quite well if they maintain there pro-privacy heading. Privacy is a feature, it's something people want, and unfortunately its becoming a luxury. That is something that attracts Apple's customers.

I'm one of the few in the "tech world" that isn't so much pro-privacy. Google can read my email, Apple can track my movements, my Amazon Echo can even listen in when it wants. The end result is a huge benefit to me. How is any AI supposed to know what I want, if I try to be an anonymous user? I prefer targeted ads. I prefer submitting my information to "robots" in the hopes that my user experience is tailored to what…

It's always that way--the surveillance state grows up around you, all the while ensuring you that no harm will come to you as long as you don't resist or subvert. But here's the thing about that: At some point, if we end up in a tyranny, your acquiescence and silence won't protect you. You will be targeted, perhaps randomly, perhaps by a neighbor with some petty vendetta. The point is, you have no idea what devils you are playing with. The Germans happily murdered the elderly, the retarded, homosexuals, gypsies, on and on. None of those people were actively fighting the regime, they were just simply useless eaters who got in the way.

The same story has played out dozens of times in history. Stalin, Pol Pot--tyrants kill for irrational reasons.

Re: Apple is struggling to become an AI powerhouse

#249

Post by m_mueller »

Ntrails wrote: post #240
m_mueller wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To maximise profit, a corporation must find the highest possible price that customers are still willing to pay. If a company finds a way to do this separately for each customer, then the other market players need to follow, otherwise they will loose their capital (i.e. shareholders jump ship). Information asymmetry is a very devious market hazard, it makes it such that the market appeara to be working perfectly well,…

Companies sell at lower prices than the maximum acceptable price of the customer all the time for a variety of reasons. In order for what you say to be true there has to be a monopoly - otherwise competition will drive prices below that point (and this happens all the time)

There doesn't have to be an absolute monopoly, just a monopoly to a very specific service that you are looking for. Like a direct flight on a less frequented route. Or a delivery of baby wipes that arrives until tomorrow lunchtime at your home address. Oh, you also searched for "what to do when out of baby wipes"? Better jack up that price then...

Re: Apple is struggling to become an AI powerhouse

#250

Post by MagnumOpus »

eridius wrote: post #190
naravara wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>If you're adding an artificial delay after "Hey Siri", waiting for her to respond before continuing, then you're just making it harder. Just speak conversationally. I actually find this frustrating and I'm surprised Apple went this way given their usual commitment to humanistic interaction design. When I'm addressing someone in real life, I call out their names and wait for acknowledgement that they're listening bef…

> The fact that Siri doesn't acknowledge it's listening or even give you a visual indicator that it's attention has been caught Yes it does. It makes a very distinct sound when it starts listening, and the screen itself transitions to the Siri screen and shows the animating waveform.

And it doesn't start listening until about a second later.

Which is a big problem.

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