Apple may have introduced "Siri" to the world at yesterday's iPhone event, but the artificially intelligent personal assistant may have its roots at the company much, much earlier. The above video, showcasing an AI concept called "Knowledge Navigator" that was just a dream at Apple during the John Sculley era, was produced in 1987. In it, a man interacts with a touch screen device that features an artificial intelligence system... personified by a butler-ish avatar in a bowtie. While Siri is thankfully all voice and no flesh, both AI's perform essentially the same functions, like looking up facts and figures and scheduling calendar appointments. The scariest coincidence about the video? The future it predicts takes place on September 16, 2011 — within a month of the actual debut of Siri.
[Gizmodo]
