Apple will reportedly send a sizable share of its Siri development team to an intensive, multi-week bootcamp to get better at AI coding. To be clear, the employees won’t be learning how to make an AI, but how to use AI to develop.
It’s allegedly part of a push to finally complete the revamp of Apple’s voice assistant that was promised years ago.
Apple employees learn AI coding skills to finish Siri
In 2024, Apple promised “the start of a new era for Siri” thanks to a sizable infusion of artificial intelligence. But the company has since struggled to integrate modern AI capabilities into Siri’s existing architecture. And management missteps and organizational changes certainly haven’t helped.
Apple’s latest move to get the job done is to send hundreds of employees to coding camp, according to a report published Wednesday by The Information. This won’t include everyone on the team, but it’s described as a “significant chunk” of the organization. It’s trying to retrain existing employees at scale rather than relying only on new hires.
The focus of the bootcamp will allegedly be on learning how to build software using AI tools, not just traditional coding methods. Employees will be taught how to build and iterate using modern AI-assisted workflows, reflecting a wider shift in the tech industry.
The Information report underscores the urgency within Apple to realign its engineering culture with the demands of the AI era.
AI-enhanced Siri expected in the fall
When iOS 27 launches this fall, users should expect a more conversational and capable Siri. Apple hopes to transform the voice assistant from a command-based tool to an assistant that can understand context and execute complex tasks.
Apple’s goals include deeper contextual understanding, the ability to access personal data for smarter responses and more powerful in-app actions.
The company’s efforts are getting a big assist from Google. Apple coders may be learning to develop with AI, but behind the scenes, Google Gemini will provide the large language models powering the improved Siri.
Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 25 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh SE/30 (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer.
That’s because he’s a “tablet first” type of guy. Rather than use a Macbook, he connects a keyboard case to the iPad. And instead of a desktop Mac, he connects his tablet to a 27-inch display and full-size keyboard. (So don’t try to tell him that everyone has to use a Mac to be productive.)
Before coming to Cult of Mac, Ed wrote for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview and Brighthand, as well as other sites.
