Move over, Siri

THE idea of artificially intelligent personal assistants—digital secretaries, made of software, that take dictation, manage contacts, book lunches and arrange transport—has been around for many years. But truly successful examples have proved as elusive as flying cars. Perhaps the best known example is Siri, the personal assistant built into Apple’s iPhones and iPads, which can understand complex spoken sentences such as “Please reschedule tomorrow afternoon’s meeting from 4pm to 3pm”. As clever as this is, however, Siri still feels more like a technology demo than a really useful assistant.

The next generation of assistant software aims to go one step further by pursuing an approach known as “predictive intelligence”. It exploits the fact that smartphones now have access to fast internet links and location data, and can draw upon personal information, address books, e-mail and calendars. The aim of these new assistants is to anticipate what information users need, based on context and past behaviour, and to provide it before they have even asked for it. Such an assistant might, for example, spontaneously suggest that you leave early for a meeting, because it has spotted heavy traffic en route; present directions to your hotel when you arrive in a foreign country; offer to book a taxi or hotel based on analysis of an incoming e-mail or text message; or offer personalised suggestions for dinner in the evening.