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by willio58 1115 days ago
As a MacOS user, this looks really cool. I just hope Apple figures out how to do it, which I don't have a ton of hope for since they've flubbed Siri for so many years.

I mean seriously, the fact that Microsoft is this far ahead with AI (because of their partnership with OpenAI), comes off as a massive failure on Apple's part. Not only that, but Microsoft's continued positioning as dev central (Github, Github Copilot, VScode, and more) while Apple dwindles with docs that have been lacking in quality for years and only providing the bulky Xcode as a code editor is frustrating me as someone who loves coding on Mac. I love using this unix-like machine but not having to sacrifice UX by using linux. But as time goes on it makes me wonder if Apple will ever start focusing on devs again, and now AI!
3 comments
joshstrange 1115 days ago
I'm hoping Apple is working on something that run locally or potentially in some privacy-focused cloud approach but honestly I can't see any way to feed data into an LLM that doesn't result in leaking a ton of data about you if someone peaked at the input/output.

The good news is I've been impressed with running various AI-type things (Stable Diffusion and llamda.cpp) locally on my M1 Max Macbook so if anyone can pull this off locally I think it's Apple.

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willio58 1113 days ago
I do agree Apple's hardware is still top-notch. Their home-made chips have been amazing to use and I have no worry they'll continue to push the envelope there. And even iOS I feel is a solid piece of evolving software (other than Siri). It's MacOS and their lack of focus on devs that worries me.
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joshstrange 1113 days ago
> It's MacOS and their lack of focus on devs that worries me

You and me both, System Settings alone is a disgrace that I'm embarrassed for them that they shipped and it's only one of many recent failures related to macOS.

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thefourthchime 1115 days ago
I believe they'll come to terms with the challenges soon. Siri faced limitations because it didn't have access to the extensive 'internet of knowledge' that Google could utilize. Apple tried to close this gap by partnering with Yelp and Wolfram Alpha, but it didn't lead to a comprehensive solution.

Nowadays, the 'internet of knowledge' can be seen as a repository that's readily accessible. It's challenging, but not impossible, to create an AI system that outperforms Google Assistant. Developing something on par with GPT-4 in the immediate future? That's unlikely. We've moved from an era akin to sailboats to one more like steamships, where the pace of development is much quicker. OpenAI currently has a significant lead, but in this rapidly advancing field, the playing field could change faster than we might expect.

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rasengan 1115 days ago
> I just hope Apple figures out how to do it,

This was done with bash mimicking similar functionality. I am guessing it will be really easy for the Apple developers to make a really nice version since it's this easy to do a hack job [1].

[1] https://github.com/realrasengan/blind.sh

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zamnos 1115 days ago
They'd have to fight with legal to distribute something newer than Bash 3 though.
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