Siri won’t be your AI friend

Our early tests have already shown this Siri AI knows when to shut upThis is largely by design. In an interview with Mostly humanThe new Siri won’t behave as fawningly as chatbots made by OpenAI, Google and others, Apple’s Craig Federighi said.

“You know, if you use a lot of existing chat programs, they’re really very engagement-focused,” said Federighi, Apple’s chief software officer. “And flattery, right? They kind of want to woo you. They might encourage you to reveal things about yourself, and then use that as a basis for establishing a connection.”

Apple has intentionally taken a different approach with its AI-powered chatbot. “We look at it quite the opposite,” Federighi said. “I mean, the way we designed Siri, Siri really wants to say, ‘Listen, that’s not what I’m here for, right? I am here to help you. I can help you get things done. I can help you learn about the world.” But if you try to engage Siri as a romantic partner, Siri isn’t ready for that. Siri isn’t 100 percent interested in that.

The interview, which included Chief Marketing Officer Greg Joswiak, covers a variety of topics, including privacy and Apple’s new child safety protections.