For people who keep confusing GVA and Siri

So I know you have probably read a *lot* of articles on iPhone4s, Siri and how it is AI.

What is *most* irritating is the fact that people compare GVA (Google Voice Actions) with Siri. Even when given the arguments that Siri is the result of a 1960s Artificial Intelligence Project – one of the largest in History, they JUST DON’T GET IT!!! “Oh”, they say, “GVA is predictive learning as well”.

There is an OCEAN of difference between predictive learning and AI.

Folks here is a simple demonstration, and if you still don’t get it, well, you never will. Stop trying.

Let’s ask GVA (or Google Search, which is “artificially intelligent”) a simple question.

“Will I need an umbrella tomorrow?”

(note that it is a question: question mark at the end)

I did this search moments ago on Google UK and found the following result.

Note that the question does not mention anything about the weather. The Google Search page I did my search on has my location registered and saved – This is important. And now… look at the results. The Search engine takes you to various sites where it finds the search phrase and related phrases. It is incidental that a website in the search results is called “umbrellatoday” and refers to the weather. Over time it will learn to REFINE the results wherein the search results will have more and more occurences of the word “Umbrella” (or anything else in the phrase for that matter) BUT IT WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND THAT YOU NEED AN UMBRELLA TO KEEP YOURSELF DRY AND THAT YOU CAN GET WET IF IT RAINS TOMORROW AND THEREFORE YOU MUST CARRY AN UMBRELLA IF THE WEATHER FORECAST IN YOUR LOCATION PREDICTS RAIN.

Now Ask SIRI the same question and it will do the analysis – EVEN THOUGH YOU NEVER MENTIONED THE WORDS “rain”, “weather”, “sun” or anything in your statement.

Check location -> Check local forecasts -> Correlate to question -> Answer with scope for correction.

And then give you the answer – “Yes, it’s a good idea to carry an umbrella tomorrow, as it will probably rain…”

AND THAT, is AI. In a formal definition of AI – a system can be said to be intelligent if its response is similar to that of a human being. If I ask a friend “Do I need an umbrella tommorrow”, he/she doesn’t throw millions of results at me showing “umbrella”, but based on millions of synapse interactions in the brain says “yes” or “no” or even “I don’t know, but I can search it for you”.

If you still don’t get it folks, I can’t subsitute common sense. Period.