Siri-us setback: Apple’s AI chief steps down as company lags behind rivals
Apple’s head of artificial intelligence, John Giannandrea, is stepping down from the company.The move comes as the Silicon Valley giant has lagged behind its competitors in rolling out generative AI features, in particular its voice assistant Siri.Apple made the announcement on Monday, thanking Giannandrea for his seven-year tenure at the company.Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, said his fellow executive helped the company “in building and advancing our AI work” and allowing Apple to “continue to innovate”.Giannandrea will be replaced by longtime AI researcher Amar Subramanya.
Apple debuted its marquee AI product suite, Apple Intelligence, in June 2024, but has been slow to overhaul its products with generative AI in comparison with competitors such as Google,Apple has added incremental features, such as real-time language translation in its new AirPod earphones, a feature Google’s headphones added in 2017, and a fitness app that uses an AI-generated voice for chats during workouts, but major changes are still in the works,The company has teased an AI-forward upgrade to Siri for more than a year, but the rollout has repeatedly been postponed,“This work [on Siri] needed more time to reach our high-quality bar,” Craig Federighi, Apple’s vice-president of software engineering, said during the company’s developer conference in June,In an earnings call the next month, Cook said Apple was “making good progress on a more personalized Siri” and promised a release next year.
With the appointment of Subramanya, Apple seems to be indicating a tighter focus on the company’s AI strategy.Subramanya previously worked as the corporate vice-president of AI for Microsoft and also spent 16 years at Google, where he was the head of engineering for its Gemini AI assistant, seen as a leader in the industry.He will report to Craig Federighi, Apple’s head of engineering, who has also taken on a bigger role working on AI at the company in recent years.Sign up to TechScapeA weekly dive in to how technology is shaping our livesafter newsletter promotionCook said on Monday that Federighi “has been instrumental in driving our AI efforts, including overseeing our work to bring a more personalized Siri to users next year”.In its announcement, Apple wrote that this was a “new chapter” for the company as it “strengthens its commitment” to AI.
Production of French-German fighter jet threatened by rivalries, chief executive says
The leaders of France and Germany have a “strong willingness” to build a new fighter jet together despite bitter internal rivalries, according to the chief executive of engine manufacturer Safran.A row over who should lead between French aerospace company Dassault and the German unit of Airbus has threatened to break apart the countries’ efforts to make a next-generation fighter jet.France’s Safran, one of the world’s biggest engine-makers, is due to co-produce turbines for the aircraft. Its chief executive, Olivier Andriès, told reporters in London on Tuesday that relations were “very strained” between the lead partners on the Future Combat Air System (known as Scaf in France)However, he added that the offices of the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, wanted a solution. “Obviously the relationship between Airbus and Dassault is extremely difficult,” Andriès said
Tunbridge Wells water cut likely to last after treatment problem reoccurs
Water shortages in Tunbridge Wells that have forced schools and businesses to close look likely to continue for at least another day after the local water company said the problem with its plant had reoccurred.The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) has said it will investigate.Thousands of homes in the Kent town have been without water since the weekend after South East Water accidentally added the wrong chemicals to the tap water supply.Schools across the area have been shut, and residents have been filling buckets with rainwater to flush toilets. Cats, dogs and guinea pigs have been given bottled mineral water to drink as the people of Tunbridge Wells wait for their water to be switched back on
Sam Altman issues ‘code red’ at OpenAI as ChatGPT contends with rivals
Sam Altman has declared a “code red” at OpenAI to improve ChatGPT as the chatbot faces intense competition from rivals.According to a report by tech news site the Information, the chief executive of the San Francisco-based startup told staff in an internal memo: “We are at a critical time for ChatGPT.”OpenAI has been rattled by the success of Google’s latest AI model, Gemini 3, and is devoting more internal resources to improving ChatGPT.Last month, Altman told employees that the launch of Gemini 3, which has outperformed rivals on various benchmarks, could create “temporary economic headwinds” for the company. He added: “I expect the vibes out there to be rough for a bit
The fight to see clearly through big tech’s echo chambers
Hello, and welcome to TechScape. I’m your host, Blake Montgomery. Today, I’m mulling over whether to upgrade my iPhone 11 Pro. In tech news, there’s a narrative battle afoot in Silicon Valley, tips on avoiding the yearly smartphone upgrade cycle and new devices altogether, and artificial intelligence’s use in government, for better and for worse.The encroachment of technology can feel inevitable
Serena Williams quietly re-enters drug-testing pool in step toward possible 2026 return
Serena Williams has taken the procedural move required of any player contemplating a competitive comeback, after the 23-time grand slam singles champion re-entered the International Tennis Integrity Agency’s (ITIA) registered testing pool for the first time since 2022.Williams, 44, has not played an official match since her run to the third round of the US Open more than three years ago. Although she described her departure at the time as “evolving away” from the sport rather than a hard retirement, she filed the paperwork with the ITIA that September that exempted her from the sport’s stringent whereabouts requirements. To return to competition, however, players must make themselves available for out-of-competition testing for six months before they are allowed to enter an event.Williams’s name appeared on the agency’s updated testing-pool list dated 6 October
Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027: how the draw will work and the new format explained
A potential path to victory at the 2027 men’s Rugby World Cup will become clearer in Sydney on Wednesday when the draw for the tournament is madeKicking off on 1 October 2027, the men’s event will feature 24 teams instead of 20, and will be the first to include a round of 16. Each tournament since 2003 has included 20 competing nations, and the previous format moved straight from the pool stage to the quarter-finals. There will be a total of 52 matches in 2027, up from 48.Instead of four pools of five there are six pools of four. The eventual winners will still be obliged to play seven matches to claim the trophy, but will play one pool match fewer, before the last-16 game for a place in the last eight
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