Back in April, Apple product designer and Siri co-founder Tom Gruber gave a TED Talk, where he spoke about his vision of the future of computers and artificial intelligence.
The full 10-minute TED Talk was today published on YouTube, giving us a chance to hear his complete thoughts on the future of AI and Siri.
In his talk, Gruber says computers should be used to lessen human failings, like memory, and augment human capabilities. He believes computers should log all aspects of our lives, allowing us to remember the people we've met and details about them, like favorite sports, family members, and name pronunciation.
Gruber's talk also covers the importance of privacy and a range of useful applications for AI, like cancer detection and advanced personal assistants like Siri.
I just want an AI which will accurately predict songs I'll like.
Not 'songs by the same artist' or 'you might like this, because other users who like the same artists as you also like it'.
But often I'll listen to an album from the bands I like, or be listening to the radio, and here those songs that I absolutely love.
Give me an AI which I can keep telling which songs fall into that category, and it can work out what it is I love about them, and find other songs which I'll love, too.
I find it annoying that people like Tom Gruber working on a big problem like AI talk glowingly about what the future might bring in terms of capabilities but never talk about potential unintended consequences. Nobody in the past speaking glowingly about the future of the Internet mentioned terrorist recruitment videos on YouTube, fake news sites built in the Ukraine spewing garbage about a candidate for president to profit on ads clicked on by gullible true believers, ransomeware, persistent cookies, etc.
I didn't find any of the powers Tom Gruber spoke so enthusiastically about in this video to be things I want. No I don't want a database in the cloud of every person I've ever met with their family and friends info and I sure don't want every person I ever meet to have my name and family info in their database.
When I was young you had to be at the bank by 3pm if you needed to withdraw money, today I wave my applewatch in front of a small device to pay for goods and services, I carry a phone and travel maps and books and a bizzillion songs in my pocket. All great. I believe the future will bring cool powers too but I also wonder about how the unexamined dark consequences will work out. I'm feeling pessimistic because these guys working their hearts out to make it happen aren't thinking about and talking to us about the potential for malicious misuse.
He believes computers should log all aspects of our lives, allowing us to remember the people we've met and details about them, like favorite sports, family members, and name pronunciation.
No thank you. I've seen that particular episode of Black Mirror :eek:
Tuesday October 13, 2026 6:08 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple today announced the fourth-generation Apple TV 4K, with key features including an A19 chip, Siri AI support, an updated Siri Remote that has Find My support with Precision Finding, built in far-field microphones, support for surround sound with four HomePods in front and rear pairs, and more.
The A19 chip in the new Apple TV 4K delivers up to 50% faster CPU performance and up to twice...
Tuesday October 13, 2026 6:11 am PDT by Juli Clover
Apple today announced a new HomePod mini equipped with Siri AI, new colors, and improved audio experiences. The new HomePod mini has an S10 chip that supports advanced computational audio, and Apple says it optimizes dynamic range, loudness, and acoustic performance in real-time.
A Sound Glow feature turns the HomePod mini's top into a "visual canvas" that glows and animates in sync with...
Tuesday October 13, 2026 10:26 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
The new Apple TV 4K and updated Siri Remote unveiled today have quite a few new features, as outlined in our all-in-one summary below.
Here are 11 changes coming with the new Apple TV:
A19 chip, for up to 50% faster CPU performance and up to twice as fast graphics performance compared to the previous model with the A15 chip.
8GB of RAM is very likely, up from 4GB of RAM in the previous ...
Top Rated Comments
Not 'songs by the same artist' or 'you might like this, because other users who like the same artists as you also like it'.
But often I'll listen to an album from the bands I like, or be listening to the radio, and here those songs that I absolutely love.
Give me an AI which I can keep telling which songs fall into that category, and it can work out what it is I love about them, and find other songs which I'll love, too.
I didn't find any of the powers Tom Gruber spoke so enthusiastically about in this video to be things I want. No I don't want a database in the cloud of every person I've ever met with their family and friends info and I sure don't want every person I ever meet to have my name and family info in their database.
When I was young you had to be at the bank by 3pm if you needed to withdraw money, today I wave my applewatch in front of a small device to pay for goods and services, I carry a phone and travel maps and books and a bizzillion songs in my pocket. All great. I believe the future will bring cool powers too but I also wonder about how the unexamined dark consequences will work out. I'm feeling pessimistic because these guys working their hearts out to make it happen aren't thinking about and talking to us about the potential for malicious misuse.