Recently, Ke Yang, an important AI executive at Apple, decided to leave the company and join Meta. According to Bloomberg, Yang was appointed as the head of Apple's Answers, Knowledge and Information (AKI) team a few weeks ago. The main goal of this team is to enhance the capabilities of the Siri voice assistant, making it smarter and able to directly obtain information from the web, similar to ChatGPT.
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The AKI team plays a central role in the major update of Apple's Siri, which is part of Apple's measures to revitalize its AI business. The new version of Siri will introduce some previously delayed features, including the ability to handle more complex requests and better use users' personal data to improve service quality. Apple hopes that the "Answers" feature can compete with OpenAI, Google's Gemini, and others in the fast-developing AI search market.
Ke Yang worked directly under John Giannandrea, Apple's Senior Vice President of AI and Machine Learning. Before taking over the AKI department, he was responsible for projects related to search. This redesign project was developed jointly by Apple's Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning group and the Siri Engineering team, with Yang seen as one of the key executives. Yang's departure has raised concerns about the stability of Apple's AI team, as several core members have left the team this year.
The phenomenon of talent loss in Apple's AI team has drawn attention, including multiple members responsible for foundational model research, known as "Apple Foundation Models," as well as the founder and chief scientist of the team, Ruoming Pang, who has joined the Superintelligence Labs team being set up by Meta. Additionally, other members such as Sam Wiseman and Chong Wang have also joined Meta, indicating the instability of Apple's AI team.
Yang's departure means that the AKI team will be taken over by Benoit Dupin, an assistant to Giannandrea, who will be responsible for Apple's cloud infrastructure in the field of machine learning. Apple is facing pressure to catch up with OpenAI and Google in the areas of generative AI and search, and rebuilding the team and attracting talent will be a challenge in the future.
Key Points:
🌟 Ke Yang, an Apple AI executive, recently switched to Meta, and his future prospects are drawing attention.
🛠️ The AKI team is dedicated to enhancing the intelligence of Siri, but it is currently facing the loss of core team members.
🚀 The competitive pressure in Apple's AI field is increasing, and it urgently needs to rebuild team stability.
