Apple Consolidating AI Team in Texas, Closing San Diego Office: Report

Apple is closing down an AI office based in San Diego and transferring its work to Austin, Texas, according to a report from Bloomberg. The 121-strong Data Operations Annotations team in San Diego has until the end of the month to decide whether to relocate to Austin or leave Apple on April 26.

Apple AI Austin

The Data Operations Annotations group focuses on improving Siri by analyzing queries and responses to the voice assistant. Besides the American cities, there are also international DOA offices in China, India, Ireland, and Spain. San Diego’s office focuses on teaching Siri to understand and communicate in Hebrew, English, and multiple dialects of Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, and French. The team previously faced controversy over privacy concerns related to contracting workers listening to Siri recordings. Employees later replaced contractors.

A small number of those experts now assist Apple’s transition to generative AI models, reviewing potential Siri responses. Apple plans to announce these generative AI plans in more detail this summer. That vision will presumably go well beyond Apple’s recent generative AI efforts to upgrade Siri and integrate generative AI features into upcoming versions of iOS.

Most of the DOA employees are already based in Austin, so the choice has some logistic logic behind it. That said, the San Diego office reportedly had been told they would only be moving to a different, nearby campus, not Texas. The new move led a majority of the team to opt out of relocating to keep their jobs.

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