The long-awaited launch of the new AI-powered Siri now looks much closer thanks to Apple’s partnership with Google. The company this week confirmed reports that many Siri features will be powered by Google’s Gemini models.
We already knew some of the features we could expect from AI Siri thanks to the announcements at WWDC 2024 and a now-deleted iPhone 16 ad – and the launch of Gemini Personal Intelligence has now effectively provided a working preview …
Drawing personal information from your apps
Google yesterday launched a beta version of what it calls Personal Intelligence. The headline feature here is Gemini’s ability to use a complex mix of sources to generate responses, including personalized information pulled from a number of the Google apps and services people use.
Personal Intelligence can retrieve specific details from text, photos, or videos in your Google apps to customize Gemini responses. This includes Google Workspace (Gmail, Calendar, Drive, etc), Google Photos, your YouTube watch history, and of all of the various Google search services you’ve used (Search, Shopping, News, Maps, Google Flights, and Hotels).
The Apple version will of course pull information from Apple apps like Mail, Calendar, Photos, and Notes.
Google’s Gemini head Josh Woodward gave an example of how Personal Intelligence had helped him.
We needed new tires for our 2019 Honda minivan two weeks ago. Standing in line at the shop, I realized I didn’t know the tire size. I asked Gemini. These days any chatbot can find these tire specs, but Gemini went further. It suggested different options: one for daily driving and another for all-weather conditions, referencing our family road trips to Oklahoma found in Google Photos. It then neatly pulled ratings and prices for each. As I got to the counter, I needed our license plate. Instead of searching for it or losing my spot in line to walk back to the parking lot, I asked Gemini. It pulled the seven-digit number from a picture in Photos and also helped me identify the van’s specific trim by searching Gmail. Just like that, we were set.
Addressing the hallucination problem
Hallucinations are one of the greatest dangers with AI systems, and the risks obviously increase if they are trying to extrapolate from your own personal data. Google says the new feature allows you to see exactly what assumptions it is making and offer you the chance to verify or correct those.
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