


Unlike dictation in the keyboard, though, speech recognition also works for recorded audio files stored locally in addition to live audio. Speech recognition uses the same underlying technology of Siri and dictation. The speech recognition API has been designed for those times when apps don’t want to present a keyboard to start dictation, giving developers more control. IOS 10 introduces a new API for continuous speech recognition that enables developers to build apps that can recognize human speech and transcribe it to text. According to Apple, a third of all dictation requests comes from apps, with over 65,000 apps using dictation services per day for the 50 languages and dialects iOS supports. IOS has offered transcription of spoken commands with a dictation button in the keyboard since the iPhone 4S and iOS 5. Differential privacy has the potential to give Apple a unique edge on services and data collection. If Apple’s approach works, iOS will be able to offer more intelligent suggestions at scale without storing identifiable information for individual users. In iOS 10, this technology will help improve QuickType and emoji suggestions, Spotlight deep link suggestions and Lookup Hints in Notes. As more people share the same pattern, general patterns begin to emerge, which can inform and enhance the user experience. To obscure an individual’s identity, Differential Privacy adds mathematical noise to a small sample of the individual’s usage pattern. Starting with iOS 10, Apple is using Differential Privacy technology to help discover the usage patterns of a large number of users without compromising individual privacy. iOS 10 uses differential privacy in specific ways ideally, the goal is to apply this technique to more data-based features to make iOS smarter.įrom Apple’s explanation of differential privacy:
#Speech api ios software#
Differential privacy, used in conjunction with machine learning, can help software spot patterns and trends while also ensuring privacy with a system that goes beyond anonymization of users. Here’s my attempt to offer a layman’s interpretation of differential privacy: it’s a way to collect user data at scale without personally identifying any individual.
#Speech api ios pdf#
See this great explanation by Matthew Green and ‘The Algorithmic Foundations of Differential Privacy’ ( PDF link), published by Cynthia Dwork and Arron Roth. Whether it’s a setting, a briefly documented API, or a subtle visual update, there are plenty of details and tidbits in iOS 10.Īs a branch of cryptography and mathematics, I want to leave a proper discussion of Apple’s application of differential privacy to folks who are better equipped to talk about it (Apple is supposed to publish a paper on the subject in the near future). With the breadth and depth of iOS, it’s impossible to list every single change or new feature.
