Apple builds internal ‘Veritas’ chatbot to test major siri overhaul, report says

Apple Inc. has created an in-house, ChatGPT-like application named Veritas to test a much-anticipated overhaul of its Siri voice assistant, marking a significant step toward accelerating its artificial intelligence initiatives.

According to a recent report by Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman, the project is a strategic component of Apple to bridge the gap between AI leaders, such as OpenAI and Google.

The AI department at the firm is testing the Veritas app to expedite the testing of new Siri features before a scheduled revamp is undertaken next year.

The report, citing individuals who have been made privy to the issue, reports that Veritas is being utilized to test more advanced features, including the Siri search capabilities within a user's personal data, including emails and songs, and more complicated in-app tasks, like photo editing.

The application enables workers to enter requests, use a multi-turn dialog, and explore previous dialogues to improve the performance of the AI.

The presence of Veritas highlights Apple's ambition, as well as the hurdles it experienced in the AI race.

The next-generation Siri from the company has been postponed several times, and its introduction of the Siri-like Apple Intelligence suite in 2017 was well received by some industry analysts.

The report also reveals that Apple, at the moment, has no intention of publishing Veritas to the general public. 

According to Gurman, this could be a strategic error, as a publicly facing chatbot would strengthen Apple's AI credentials. Rather, the company seems to be depending on collaborations to drive certain consumer-facing AI capabilities. 

The report substantiates previous indications that Apple has a greater likelihood of integrating the Gemini AI into its system to perform more sophisticated search operations on behalf of its users.

This two-track strategy - developing and testing strong artificial intelligence models in-house and possibly using external technology to produce consumer products - underscores the thorny road Apple is walking in its effort to imbue its iconic brands with the generative AI features that have characterized the present era of technology. 

The success of the redesigned Siri, which was trialed in the shadows by Veritas, will become one of the most important tests of whether Apple is capable of competing in the AI market it has brought into existence.