Inside Apple's Siri Team: Dysfunction, Despair, and Delusion

It turns out even Apple employees are fed up with Siri and are skeptical about its future. According to a new report, the company's Siri and artificial intelligence teams are facing organizational dysfunction, lack of ambition, and employee retention issues.

In fact, Google's CEO Sundar Pichai had to personally woo three former Siri engineers away from Apple to work on large language models (LLMs) at Google. And it's not just employees who are unimpressed with Siri; even Apple's top executives are wary of the platform making major mistakes.

But don't worry, there's hope yet! Apple's AI and machine-learning team has promised to educate the bigwigs about the benefits of machine learning and compromise with the Siri design team. Maybe one day Siri will be as cool as ChatGPT, but until then, we'll just keep yelling at our phones and hoping for the best.

Rapid Rundown

• 📰 Report says even Apple employees dislike Siri and doubt its future.

• 💬 Organizational dysfunction, lack of ambition, and fear of gaffes holding Siri back.

When Pinterest met Amazon: The latest love story on the internet

Pinterest and Amazon have announced a partnership that will bring more products and brands to the social media platform. In a move to appeal to consumers' changing interests, Pinterest launched video-first Idea Pins and increased its investment in creator content. However, the company recently wound down some of those creator efforts after a last-quarter revenue miss.

The Amazon partnership will potentially offer users a seamless buying experience, taking them directly to Amazon when they click on an Amazon ad on Pinterest. Pinterest noted that the integration of Amazon ads will take place over multiple quarters, starting later this year. Although Pinterest beat Q1 revenue and earnings, its stock still dropped 6% on higher Q2 costs. In response, Pinterest said it was working to adapt to the changing environment and reduce expenses, promising to continue connecting product inspiration to purchases.

Rapid Rundown

• 💡 Pinterest and Amazon partner to bring more brands and products to the platform, potentially offering a seamless buying experience for users.

• 💰 Despite beating Q1 earnings, Pinterest's stock fell 6% on higher Q2 costs, leading the company to reduce expenses.

Clubhouse Struggles to Stay Relevant, Cuts More Than Half Its Staff

Clubhouse, the social audio platform, announced layoffs of half its staff, surprising no one. Clubhouse was the poster child of the tech industry's irrational exuberance during the COVID pandemic, attracting everyone from MC Hammer to Oprah Winfrey to Mark Zuckerberg.

Investors poured in billions of dollars, valuing the company at $4 billion, but growth flattened, and no revenue model emerged. The founders now admit they grew too fast and plan to reset the company with a smaller team.

Clubhouse may have had its day in the sun, but like many viral apps, its momentum quickly evaporated. The founders promise a new and improved Clubhouse 2.0, but they face long odds in attracting and keeping users. As for the departing employees, they will receive salaries, healthcare, and career support until the end of August.

Rapid Rundown

• 📢 Clubhouse, the social audio platform, laid off half its staff to "reset" the company.

• 💸 Valued at $4 billion, downloads peaked at 14.2 million, but growth flattened before implementing a revenue model.

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