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Why Apple can't get Siri right (video)

Anyone who's used Siri will know it frequently mishears, misunderstands or just plain gets it wrong. With the help of an expert, Adventures in Tech explains why Siri's job is so hard, and how it could improve in future.

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Luke Westaway Senior editor
Luke Westaway is a senior editor at CNET and writer/ presenter of Adventures in Tech, a thrilling gadget show produced in our London office. Luke's focus is on keeping you in the loop with a mix of video, features, expert opinion and analysis.
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Luke Westaway
2 min read
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Watch this: Why Apple can't get Siri right
Why does Siri so frequently get it so wrong? Hit play to see Adventures in Tech dive into the weird world of voice recognition, explaining (with the help of an expert) why getting a machine to listen like a human is no easy task.

From accents to background noise, there are plenty of obstacles that can throw off Siri's speech recognition powers. But understanding what you've said is only half the battle -- next Siri needs to decode what you mean.

Despite the sophistication of Apple's snarky robot butler, turning Siri into a reliable, genuinely useful assistant is going to take time. In the video above you'll learn how two fields of study -- automatic speech recognition and natural language understanding -- must work in harmony to create a Siri we'll actually use, instead of just swear at.

Hope springs eternal, however! Apple is rumoured to have acquired speech-recognition firm Novauris, possibly in a bid to tune up Siri's ability to hear us correctly. Meanwhile Microsoft is throwing its hat into the ring, revealing Cortana as a new Siri rival.

Do you use Siri? Has it changed your life, or do you find it too inaccurate? Watch the latest episode of Adventures in Tech, then let me know your Siri-sentiments in the comments, on our Facebook wall, or drop me a line on Twitter.

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