Apple's
voice-activated assistant, Siri, is a nifty app that can give you
directions, search the Web, and occasionally throw some shade. That
sassy streak might be attributable to her immaturity; she is barely two
years old, after all. Apple has said for some time that Siri is a work
in progress, but a new job posting suggests that Cupertino is hard at
work bringing Siri into adulthood.
Last week, Apple
published a job posting for a "Siri Writer/Editor." The person hired
for the position will "refresh and refine existing Siri dialog," among
other things.
"We're looking for a uniquely creative
individual to help us evolve and enrich Siri, our virtual personal
assistant," according to the post. "Siri's known for 'her' wit, cultural
knowledge, and zeal to explain things in engaging, funny, and practical
ways. The ideal candidate is someone who combines a love for language,
wordplay, and conversation with demonstrated experience in bringing
creative content to life within an intense technical environment."
It should come as no surprise that Apple is working to improve Siri.
While the app is impressive in some ways, she also has a long way to go
in understanding natural language. For now, if she doesn't understand
what you're asking, Siri will largely default to asking if you want her
to search the Web for your query.
As a result, the newest Siri
Writer/Editor will "develop and write original dialog to support new
Siri capabilities," Apple said, which will "help the Siri team evolve
Siri as a distinct, recognizable character."
To be considered for the full-time
position, you must have a bachelor's degree or equivalent, and have
excellent writing skills, as well as an impressive vocabulary and
cross-cultural knowledge. Knowing more than one language is a plus, as
is translation experience.
It does not appear that the right
candidate needs to be a programming whiz; the posting said the best
person just needs experience working with engineering teams, practices,
and tools.
0 comments:
Post a Comment