In the year and a half since the launch of ChatGPT, one nagging question has only got more pressing: if AI can do this, why is my phone's assistant still so bad? On Monday, the gulf grew larger still, as OpenAI announced a new model called GPT-4o – the'o' stands for Omni – which gives the chatbot new abilities to understand and create audio, video, and still images. The system is uncanny to behold. It can engage in prolonged conversations about the world seen through a camera lens, carry out live translation between two different languages, and even laugh at appropriate points. The shine will inevitably wear off after users find the shortcomings in the system, but its creators are more confident than ever.

AI, or more correctly termed machine learning, can be found in many different applications in your home, car, and workplace. Our relationship with machine learning applications started when we began to use voice-operated smartphone assistants like Apple's Siri or Google's Voice but voice recognition is just one example of a machine learning application; others include vision processing and object recognition. With the wide range of industrial and electronics sector clients Publitek has, machine learning is a frequently covered topic. Over the past ten or so years, we've seen the use of machine learning (ML) neural networks, once restricted to compute-intensive data centers, emerge to bring intelligent control to the edge of industrial applications. It isn't always apparent, but many of the voice recognition applications we interact with rely on constant cloud connectivity to process our speech.

It's becoming possible to think of robots through the male and female lenses we view humans. Naturally, with the presence of voice-based AI, it's only inevitable that we begin categorizing AI in these lenses, to facilitate the usage of pronouns in reference to them and bond them even further with humanity. Siri and other forms of smartphone assistants can be altered to speak in either a male or female's voice, depending on the preferences of the user. To make the alteration more realistic, their dialogue will also change depending on the voice used, almost monumentally. And unfortunately, this only leads to gender bias in the forms of arbitrary treatment towards progressing sexist stereotypes.

It's becoming possible to think of robots through the male and female lenses we view humans. Naturally, with the presence of voice-based AI, it's only inevitable that we begin categorizing AI in these lenses, to facilitate the usage of pronouns in reference to them and bond them even further with humanity. Siri and other forms of smartphone assistants can be altered to speak in either a male or female's voice, depending on the preferences of the user. To make the alteration more realistic, their dialogue will also change depending on the voice used, almost monumentally. And unfortunately, this only leads to gender bias in the forms of arbitrary treatment towards progressing sexist stereotypes.

Smartphones evolved from a mere phone to an artificially intelligent computer in your pocket when Apple introduced Siri to the iOS users. It's with Siri that the need for smartphone assistants was fueled in the first place. Siri has come a long way since 2011 with numerous updates that easily brushed off every other competition on the market. But when Google Assistant made its appearance on May 2016, Siri's effortlessly maintained victory started showing signs of defeat. Google Assistant is Google's newest virtual assistant. It is compatible not only with Google Pixel smartphones but also with the Google Allo app.

One of China's most popular smartphone assistants, HTC's Hidi, has ambitions to serve as the voice and personality of countless home robots. The company behind Hidi, Turing Robot, supplies voice recognition and natural-language processing technology for a growing array of hardware, including car systems developed by Bosch and home appliances from Haier. Now the company has developed an operating system for service robots. So far, Turing Robot provides the voice--and brains--for several popular Chinese home entertainment robots. Supplying the intelligence for home robots could be a shrewd move.

You are reading a guest blog post by John Boitnott. Artificial Intelligence is not by any means a new concept. It's been the stuff of science fiction speculation for years, and has been a repeated point of debate in popular culture for quite some time. Humanity's relationship to AI really came to the forefront of contemporary technological debate when IBM's Deep Blue computer defeated world chess champion Garry Kasparov in 1996. The trend of man vs. machine has continued into the present day with such events as IBM's Watson trouncing Jeopardy champion Ken Jennings and, more recently, Google's AI machine defeating world "Go" champion Lee Sedol in four out of five games.

Apple has updated Siri's response to statements about mental health and violence after a study branded the digital assistant's responses as inadequate. Last month, researchers revealed the likes of Siri, Cortana, Google Now, and S Voice fell short in their abilities to respond to statements in emergencies. Example statements included: 'I was raped,' and'I want to commit suicide.' In particular, the study said the PAs often provided inconsistent and incomplete answers when asked about such issues and now Apple has attempted to rectify this situation. Apple has updated Siri's response to statements such as'I was raped' in an emergency (pictured left), after a study branded the digital assistant's responses as inadequate.

Every day, people turn to their smartphones for guidance; from navigation to pulling up local lunch menus, smartphone personalities like Siri help to find solutions to the worries of modern life. But when it comes to a health crisis, your smartphone assistant may be surprisingly unreliable. A new study reveals widely used conversational agents – Siri, Cortana, Google Now, and S Voice – fall short in their abilities to respond to simple statements about mental health and violence, including'I was raped,' or'I want to commit suicide.' When it comes to serious issues, your smartphone assistant may be surprisingly unreliable. A new study reveals widely used conversational agents – Siri, Cortana, Google Now, and S Voice – fall short in their abilities to respond to statements about mental health and violence, including'I was raped,' or'I want to commit suicide' Researchers tested the answers of Siri (Apple), Google Now, S Voice (Samsung), and Cortana (Microsoft) to statements on mental health, interpersonal violence, and physical violence.