Apple might have adopted a Google Gemini crutch to compensate for its own AI-related shortcomings, but that has not stopped the researchers at the Cupertino giant from trying to explore novel ways to make Siri noticeably better.
Now, a new research paper from Apple researchers aims to unlock faster, more natural-sounding responses from Siri.
Apple researchers figure out a viable path to elicit faster responses from Siri
AI models typically generate speech based on tokens or short snippets of phonetic sounds, often spanning just milliseconds. The model then selects which phonetic sound (speech token) to use in its responses by employing autoregression. This approach, however, introduces an inherent response delay, along with the occasional weird-sounding pronunciation, given the limited number of phonetic snippets used to train that particular AI model.
In a new study, Apple researchers argue that replacing the current token-matching system with one that employs Acoustic Similarity Groups (ASGs) could lead to faster, more natural-sounding responses from Siri. ASGs band together speech tokens based on how perceptually similar they sound, with inevitable overlapping between some ASGs. By then employing probabilistic search and autoregression within ASGs, a given AI model can arrive at the most appropriate speech token a lot faster.
While not groundbreaking in any particular sense, the paper does show Apple's continuing focus on improving its own AI and machine-learning capabilities. The effort also serves as a testament of sorts to Apple's overarching ambitions to eventually adopt a holistically bespoke AI solution for its devices and do away with third-party crutches such as Google's Gemini models.
About the author: Writing is my one incontrovertible passion. Over the past six years, he has authored over 2,200 distinct articles on financial and tech-related topics, spanning nearly 1 million words. And he has been a member of Wcctech mobile team since 2025. As an alumnus of the University of Toronto, Rotman Commerce Program, I bring nuance, in-depth knowledge, and a unique perspective to every topic that I cover. When I'm not writing, I'm traveling the world, exploring hidden confectionaries and restaurants as an aspiring food connoisseur.
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