Apple`s next major product announcement shindig is expected soon — on Wed. 9 Sep. , to be precise. Apple`s rigorously annual fall event is always a source of rabid speculation. Industry watchers expect a new iPhone, in keeping with the Company`s usual release rhythms, featuring minor upgrades and probably some interesting new haptic technology.
But this time around, analysts are also expecting details on a new and improved Apple TV — the company`s digital media player and set-top box that`s been relatively neglected in recent years. Rumors suggest that the next-generation Apple TV unit will feature a slimmer chassis, upgraded storage and OS elements, a flashy remote with touchpad input, and integration with a new and improved App Store.
Perhaps most interesting for Joe and Jane Couchsurfer: The new Apple TV will support full voice control by way of everyone`s favorite artificial intelligence — Siri.
I`ll be frank: I dig this idea. Like so many citizens of the 21st century, I spend an alarmingly disproportionate amount of time in front of my television. In addition to devouring several of those quaint artifacts known as network television shows, I pipe pretty much everything else through that box in front of my couch: video games, sports subscription services (Go Pirates!), Netflix, music, photos, and even the occasional criminally underrated sci-fi series on DVD.
It can get a little lonely chasing down my various pop-culture obsessions. It would be nice to have someone to talk to.
Here`s the first thing I thought of when I read about the Siri integration: I could ask her to name those obscure character actors in old movies that always distract me until I look them up on IMDb.com on my phone.
Me: Hey Siri, that guy that plays Kobayashi in The Usual Suspects, didn`t he play a guy in one of the Alien movies?
Siri: Cross-referencing, please wait. The Usual Suspects, 1995. Alien 3, 1992. The performer is Pete Postlethwaite. Classically trained British actor. Born 1946, died 2011.
Me: He died?
Siri: Yes, Jan. 2, 2011.
Me: Oh, that`s a shame. Hey, he was in Jurassic Park too, right?
Look, I`m not proud, but I`m pretty sure that`s precisely how I`ll be interacting with Siri and her cutting-edge voice recognition and neural network technology. I`ll be nerding out on useless trivia and excruciating minutiae. The introduction of a companion AI could mark a watershed moment in television — like the introduction of color TV, or cable, or VHS, or androids posing as network news anchors. (That`s a personal theory.)
People have been talking to their televisions since the dawn of the medium. What`s going to happen when the television can talk back? And answer questions? With Siri there to run down all our tangential impulses and trivial pursuits, I suspect watching TV is going to get a lot more interesting — at least for media consumers of a certain intensity.
Siri, after neglecting for years to make good use of your virtual assistance, I think this will finally be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
