It shouldn’t surprise you, because it has become a commonplace. So, if we go back a bit in the history of smart voice assistants, in 2003, we’ll find the U.S. Department of Defense and specifically a project funded by the department’s agency called “Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency” (DARPA), which is responsible for developing new technologies for military use. DARPA was founded in 1958 and since then has accumulated many achievements. It is responsible for developing many known technologies (we can even find it in the early stages of the internet) and has played a significant role at various points in history, such as during the Cold War. A specific project, funded by this agency, is called CALO as part of its program: “Personalized Assistant that Learns” (PAL program). The name of the CALO project is inspired by a Latin word meaning “soldier’s servant,” the initials of which correspond to the acronym Cognitive Assistant that Learns and Organizes (cognitive assistant that learns and organizes). According to Wikipedia: the project lasted five years (2003-2008) with the participation of 300 researchers from 25 universities and commercial research centers, aiming to create a new generation of cognitive assistants that possess logic, learn from their experiences, accept commands, can explain what they’re doing, react to stimuli they receive, and can robustly respond to any surprise. The research institute SRI International was responsible for coordinating this effort to produce such an assistant that would live and learn through its users.
SRI International is engaged in research and development of technologies in the fields of health and biomedical sciences, education and learning, economic development, energy and green growth, materials science, computer science, security, defense, and many more. As for its significant contribution to national defense and security, SRI writes the following on the front page of its website:
The defense contractors and government services require cutting-edge defense technology and innovative solutions. From strategy to tactics, in our laboratories and in this field, SRI meets the nation’s needs for security and defense.
For decades, the SRI has played a strategic role in the military and state’s efforts to defend the interests of the United States both domestically and abroad.
The Stanford Research Institute (SRI) was founded in 1946 by Stanford University as an innovation center aimed at supporting economic development in the region. SRI, now one of the world’s largest research centers, was spun off from Stanford University in 1970 due to reactions from the anti-Vietnam War movement, which argued that funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) placed the university within the military-industrial complex (in service of the military).
During the CALO project, which SRI describes as one of the largest artificial intelligence projects ever undertaken, the institute created a series of technologies and applications, including the intelligent voice assistant Siri. In 2007, a year before the project’s completion, SRI founded the spin-off company Siri Inc. and announced that the software would be available for BlackBerry devices and phones running Android software. In April 2010, however, Siri Inc. would fall under Apple’s ownership, and efforts to integrate it into other systems would cease. Thus, in 2011, Apple became the first to have its own intelligent voice assistant integrated into the iPhone.