Samsung To Launch AI Digital Assistant Service For Galaxy S8 (reuters.com)

Samsung plans to launch an "artificial intelligence" digital assistant with its upcoming Galaxy S8 smartphone, it told Reuters. The announcement comes a month after the company acquired AI startup Viv, a voice assistant that aims to handle everyday tasks for you on its own. The company plans to incorporate this capability on its home appliances and wearable devices as well. From the report:Samsung is counting on the Galaxy S8 to help revive smartphone momentum after scrapping the fire-prone Galaxy Note 7, which will hit its profit by $5.4 billion over three quarters through the first quarter of 2017. Investors and analysts say the Galaxy S8 must be a strong device in order for Samsung to win back customers and revive earnings momentum. Samsung did not comment on what types of services would be offered through the AI assistant that will be launched on the Galaxy S8, which is expected to go on sale early next year. It said the AI assistant would allow customers to use third-party service seamlessly. "Developers can attach and upload services to our agent," said Samsung Executive Vice President Rhee Injong during a briefing, referring to its AI assistant. "Even if Samsung doesn't do anything on its own, the more services that get attached the smarter this agent will get, learn more new services and provide them to end-users with ease."

Comments

First AI question

[Virtucon]

"How do I stop my phone from catching fire Samsung?"

Re:First AI question

[tripleevenfall]

"Galexa, call the fire department and my insurance agent!"

How about...

[Anonymous Coward]

Stop fucking up Android with even more bloatware, and instead just TRY to updated devices these morons (aka "we") already paid for??

Re:How about...

[ColdWetDog]

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Comfort, Styling and Paranoia.

(This message brought to you from your Samsung AI)

Once more, Samsung misses the point

[Gojira Shipi-Taro]

Trying to get people to use yet another Samsung version of something that already exists in a very usable form that is NOT Samsung specific will not sell more phones. I use Google Now/Home, I have no interest in using a different personal assistant that doesn't adequately integrate with the services I already use. I'm not going to switch to Samsung versions of those services, I'll just switch to another Android brand once I need to upgrade my S6.

Re:Once more, Samsung misses the point

[Gojira Shipi-Taro]

Of course they do. I know full well Google does this, but here's the kicker. I Don't Care... because the services they provide have a value to me because they work well. Samsungs do not.

Dear Samsung:

[emil]

If you want to (re)attain market leadership in phone sales, then you must:

• - Unlock all of your bootloaders,
• - Implement removable batteries in all future designs,
• - Likewise include SD-Card slots,
• - Configure Knox alarms to be cleared when your stock firmware is reloaded with Odin.

If you do not do these things, then your days of market leadership are over, and they will not return.

Warmest regards from your user community.

Re:Dear Samsung:

[Maritz]

The first two, maybe even first three, are not something that the majority of users give a fuck about. That's a shame, probably, but I think it's true.

Re:Dear Samsung:

[CODiNE]

At least we can agree that the fourth item is in hot demand. Nothing like a Knox and Odin discussion to get a blind date going.

Re:Dear Samsung:

[jeremyp]

That's not going to work. Most of the people buying smartphones really don't care about any of that. They aren't going to retain market leadership by appealing only to a part of the Slashdot readership.

"Hey Samsung Asistant, why is my phone melting?"

[JoeyRox]

Reply (in sexy female voice): "Because when you hold me you make me hot inside."

AI

[110010001000]

This isn't AI, or "smart". Neither is Siri, Cortana or whatever Google calls theirs. Voice recognition plus database lookups are not AI, and never will be.