Apple is initiating significant changes within its Siri management structure, as the newly appointed head of Siri engineering, Mike Rockwell, implements a fresh leadership lineup to bolster the performance of the voice assistant.
Rockwell, who previously oversaw engineering for the Vision Pro software, is bringing in key personnel from his team to lead various aspects of Siri’s development. Reports suggest that he is revamping teams tasked with speech recognition, user understanding, performance, and overall user experience, although details surrounding these changes remain confidential.
Last month, Rockwell’s promotion to lead Siri engineering was part of a broader management shift, which involved reallocating responsibilities from AI chief John Giannandrea and former Siri head Robby Walker. These changes came in response to delays and challenges in project execution that prompted CEO Tim Cook to seek new guidance for Siri.
The task of revitalizing Siri has emerged as a critical issue for Apple, which introduced the voice assistant in 2011. The technology has struggled to keep pace with competitors like Google’s Assistant and OpenAI’s offerings, underscoring Apple’s difficulties in mastering the rapidly evolving realm of artificial intelligence.
In a strategic move, Rockwell has appointed Ranjit Desai, a seasoned leader from the Vision Pro team, to oversee much of Siri’s engineering. Rockwell expressed confidence in Desai’s expertise with “high-performance, low-latency systems,” believing this will significantly enhance Siri’s capabilities.
Additionally, Olivier Gutknecht, another executive from the Vision Pro software division, will head the team responsible for Siri’s user experience. Meanwhile, Nate Begeman and Tom Duffy, both veterans of Apple’s software engineering teams, are joining Siri to assist with foundational architecture, with the goal of delivering a “world-class” and scalable product.
Begeman has contributed to the Vision Pro operating system, while Duffy has experience managing core components of iPhone software. Their track records at Apple position them as valuable assets to drive the voice assistant’s rejuvenation.
Stuart Bowers, formerly in charge of data and evaluation teams, is expanding his role to enhance Siri’s responsiveness. David Winarsky, another long-time Siri veteran, will lead a new initiative focusing on voice and speech-related elements.
This leadership shake-up indicates Rockwell’s intention to either replace or demote previous managers in Siri’s engineering ranks while leveraging talent from the Vision Pro team to address the assistant’s ongoing challenges.
Despite his focus on Siri, Rockwell continues to oversee the visionOS operating system that powers current and future Vision devices. The Vision hardware team still operates within the larger hardware engineering division, under senior executive John Ternus.
As part of this shift, former visionOS software teams associated with those moving to Siri will transition to Geoff Stahl, Rockwell’s long-time colleague who manages software engineering for Vision products. Some other visionOS executives, such as apps head Jeff Norris and program management lead Haley Allen, will remain in their current roles.
Apple’s AI and machine learning group has faced challenges, grappling with management conflicts and performance issues. Some employees have labeled it “AI/MLess” due to its struggles. This turmoil has persisted even after the announcement of updates to Siri, which included features enabling enhanced interaction through personal data and information on the screen.
Earlier this year, complications related to quality and engineering prompted Apple to postpone the rollout of these technologies from April to May. By March, the company indefinitely delayed the release of a suite of features, acknowledging underlying issues. In an internal meeting, the former head of Siri highlighted functionality problems that hampered performance, indicating a need for improvement.
Currently, Siri utilizes two separate systems: one for standard commands and another based on large language models capable of more complex tasks. However, integrating these systems has contributed to quality issues. Apple aims to unify these components into a single LLM-based architecture, which is projected to yield a more conversational user interface, although fully implementing this system could take years.
Plans for the new App Intents feature, now overseen by Gutknecht, include collaboration with major third-party app developers to ensure seamless integration with their software. The enhanced technology is expected to enable users to execute multi-step tasks through a single voice command.
The leadership transition within Apple began earlier this year when Kim Vorrath, an experienced software engineering manager, was reassigned to the Siri team after overseeing project management for the Vision Pro. This indicates a concerted effort to address Siri’s limitations under Rockwell’s leadership, with guidance from Craig Federighi, Apple’s software engineering chief.
Giannandrea retains his role as the head of artificial intelligence, working directly with Cook and overseeing core AI initiatives, such as the development of large language models and performance measurement teams. Although Walker remains involved with Siri, he has lost several engineers to Rockwell’s team.
Despite concerns about the transition, particularly given Vision Pro’s lackluster market reception, Rockwell’s track record of managing significant projects and securing investment from top leadership may provide the direction necessary to revitalize Siri.
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