Apple Intelligence and Siri
Long-time Apple executive Kim Vorrath has been moved into the Apple Intelligence team following her successes on projects from Apple Vision Pro to the original iPhone.
The claim that Apple is behind on artificial intelligence may never go away, despite the company’s long history of working in the field. But a new rejigging of staff on the Apple Intelligence project at least suggests that the company believes it has work to do.
Specifically, according to Bloomberg, Kim Vorrath has been appointed
as a top deputy in Apple’s artificial intelligence and machine learning division. She will be reporting to Apple Intelligence and Siri chief John Giannandrea.
Despite not being as well-known outside of Apple as other executives, inside the company, Vorrath has a track record of getting difficult projects across the finishing line. She joined Apple as an intern in 1987, was then hired on staff in 1988 — and has never left.
Her most recent work was on the Apple Vision Pro, and she was moved into that role in 2019. It was seen at the time as Apple accelerating its plans for the AR headset.
Before that, Vorrath she ran the project management of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. Most notably, she lead the project management for the original iPhone‘s software team.
Across Vorrath’s many high-profile Apple projects, she has been known for keeping work on schedule, and for implementing rigorous bug testing. Consequently, her move to the Apple Intelligence and Siri team is likely to be because the project needs to be given more impetus.
While Apple has been working on artificial intelligence and machine learning for many years, the perception is that has fallen behind. This is because it has not produced an equivalent to ChatGPT, even as its major rivals have.
Apple does seem to be taking a different approach, though, including a greater emphasis on privacy through on-device AI processing. Yet its most prominent machine learning feature remains Siri, which is lacking compared to other AI services.
The development Siri has reportedly seen problems over both implementing privacy, and surmounting internal fighting. Kim Vorrath’s move, then, is likely to get the team focused.
It’s also a sign of how Apple Intelligence, and perhaps especially Siri, is considered more important within Apple than the Apple Vision Pro, too.
While Vorrath is said to have already been advising the team, she comes on board now just as Apple nears its promised release of a better Siri, which is currently expected to launch with iOS 18.4.
Apple has not commented on the staff move.
