Ron Callari of InventorSpot recently discussed the history of Siri and the rise of virtual personal assistants. He writes, “Back in May, 2009, I wrote about the first iteration of Siri, titled: Siri, Advice from Virtual Personal Assistants. For those who haven’t followed the iPhone evolution, while Siri was first integrated into iPhone’s operating system with their ’4S’ launch, it existed as stand-alone app previously. Fueled by artificial intelligence, it was a harbinger of what was to come in the new age of Web 3.0 and semantic technology… Siri prior to being acquired by Apple was the largest ‘artificial intelligence’ project in the U.S. at its time. Made possible by a $150 million DARPA investment, the project included 25 research organizations and institutions and spanned 5 years.”

He goes on, “Back then, according Bianca Bosker of the Huffington Post, ‘Siri boasted an even more irreverent tone — and a more robust set of skills.’ Read more