There are scary versions of AI that will take your job or destroy the planet, but there's also a more sober version: AI as your personal assistant that remembers and finds things for you or helps you create a presentation for work.
Apple showed off a kinder, gentler version yesterday, but we won't know how it works until it's released later this year. For now, all we have is Apple's pre-recorded demo video.
we can All we can say for now is that this is strikingly similar to the vision of AI that Apple has been promoting for decades.
This video from Apple in 1987 showcases a theoretical “Knowledge Navigator,” a computer that would be able to do many things that weren't possible at the time, most notably by having you converse with a bow-tied digital “agent” that could remember things for you, look things up, or help you create a presentation for your work.
This information comes to us from the excellent John Herman in New York, who draws parallels between this digital agent and Apple's description of Siri, which was unveiled in 2011. Herman goes on to connect Siri to the demo Apple showed off this week, suggesting that “Apple Intelligence” may actually be called “Siri, but this time it works.” We recommend you read John's article in full.
