A top Apple executive admitted there has been an “ugly” delay of its Siri digital assistant – and that members of the AI team responsible for the snafu “might be feeling embarrassed.”
The Cupertino, Calif.-based firm has reportedly postponed plans to release an AI-equipped version of Siri after running into bugs and glitches – a situation that has added to concerns that Apple’s AI products are lagging behind those of its Big Tech rivals.
Robby Walker, the head of Apple’s Siri team, referred to the delays and miscues as “ugly” because the overhaul has already received heavy public promotion, including in TV commercials, Bloomberg reported, citing employees with knowledge of his remarks.
“This was not one of these situations where we get to show people our plan after it’s done,” Walker said during an all-hands meeting earlier this month. “We showed people before.”
Some employees might feel “relieved” by the delay, while others “might be feeling embarrassed,” he added.
“You might have co-workers or friends or family asking you what happened, and it doesn’t feel good,” Walker said. “It’s very reasonable to feel all these things.”
Nevertheless, he praised team members for creating “incredibly impressive” features that would ultimately lead to a strong product.
Walker reportedly said that Siri’s AI features, which are meant to provide customized assistance based on the user’s personal data, is generating bad responses as much as one-third of the time.
Originally targeted for a release this spring, the Siri overhaul is not expected to roll out until next year at the earliest, according to Bloomberg, which cited people familiar with the situation.
Walker acknowledged that many employees on the team were likely feeling burnt out and noted that the Siri features will ship “as soon as they are ready,” the report said.
Apple did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
For now, Apple reportedly isn’t planning to ax any executives who oversaw the AI projects.
Apple shares are down nearly 13% since the start of the year – a decline that has occurred alongside broader market turmoil that has also hammered other Big Tech stocks. The stock was flat in early trading Monday.
Cook had dubbed the company’s plans for “Apple Intelligence” – revealed last June during a heavily choreographed presentation – as a “game changer” for its business.
Apple’s stock rose to an all-time high in the hours after the announcement, which included details about the planned AI overhaul of Siri.
The features are critical to Apple’s overall strategy, with upcoming iterations of the iPhone set to lean heavily on AI.
The problems began not long after Apple Intelligence rolled out last fall, when its AI-generated summaries began spitting out fake news alerts erroneously based on articles written by outlets like the Washington Post and BBC.
After heavy criticism, Apple vowed to fix the issue.
