root@Real world Muse [hr] I'm going to have to agree with 750 on this one. One of the taglines of the company I work for is "Making Computers Hear", which is a right bitch and a half. NaturallySpeaking by Dragon has been around for awhile, but it has not yet been able to handle declination and the verbal signals or end-of-sentence. Siri is much better about that, but we still have a long ways to go. Don't get me wrong, I want to see this succeed. If someone manages to get a good natural language processor working and wants to develop a personal assistant, having a background in cog psych, signal processing, and computer science gives me a shot (if a fairly small one. curse all of you massively qualified and competent people!) at working on projects intended to give the personal assistant the ability to engage in emotional relationships with users.

root@Real world Muse [hr] Aaaaaand done. And now I need to learn Ruby. Bleh.

root@Real world Muse [hr]

750 wrote:

Funny how the server not only where SSL protected, but the protocol used a mangled HTTP request with a embedded device id number! Given how Apple do handles their devices, i wonder how hard it is for them to correlate voice queries with user and build up some kind of profile. I guess reading about Facebook shadow profiles (using Facebook like buttons as data collection points to build up a profile of interests even before the person creates an account at their service) have fueled my paranoia...

Eh. I find that privacy paranoia can be tamed by assuming that everything placed on the internet can be correlated with you in real life unless you are taking extreme measures. There is this psych theory about how people present themselves when in public and private, the whole "the world is a stage" thing; online is just another place where you are on stage. And now to screw over my chances to run for office: I like bad things!

if bad is in The Eye Of The Beholder, what is in the Morrowind? More seriously, now, I went to the Fnac (European version of Best Buy and Barnes & Nobles rolled in one) and asked if Siri could be purchased from the app store on the ipad. the retailer said nope, because she's so demanding in processing power, one of the two cores of the iphone 4s is specially dedicated to her! (I then asked if she offers cakes and dislike lemons, and he burst out laughing. I just couldn't help it, Siri sounds just like GLaDOS!) The cyberpunk is here and now more and more. So the Transhumanism is just around the corner!

750 wrote:

Given how Apple do handles their devices, i wonder how hard it is for them to correlate voice queries with user and build up some kind of profile.

I would be disappointed in El Jobbso's legacy if they were not doing exactly that from the moment Siri launched.