Robby Walker is bailing on Apple in October after years of trying to make Siri not completely suck. He ran their AI and search teams - basically the guy responsible for Apple's biggest AI embarrassment. They shuffled him around with fancy titles like "broader AI responsibilities," which is corporate speak for "we don't know what to do with you either."
Siri is Still Garbage After 13 Years
Walker's leaving because Siri upgrades keep getting delayed into oblivion. Apple announced "Apple Intelligence" - which is like calling a horse and buggy a "transportation solution" when everyone else has cars. Tim Cook's "privacy-first" approach sounds great in keynotes but means Apple sits on the sidelines jerking off while Google and Microsoft ship AI that actually works.
Everyone's Jumping Ship
Walker isn't the only one escaping. AI startups are throwing stupid money at anyone who can spell "neural network." Meta bumped ML researcher salaries 25-40% just to stop the bleeding. When you can double your Apple salary at some AI startup and get equity that might not be worthless, why stay to polish Siri's turd?
On-Device Processing is a Dead End
Apple processes everything locally on their Neural Engine chips because "privacy." Sounds noble until you realize it means Siri doesn't know what year it is. ChatGPT and Gemini get smarter every week because they learn from billions of users. Apple's AI stays dumb because they refuse to collect the data they'd need to make it useful.
It's like trying to build Google Maps without traffic data. Noble but fucking useless.
The $20 Billion Google Problem
Walker was supposed to get Apple off Google's teat. Apple pays Google $20 billion annually to be Safari's default search engine. That's more than most countries' GDP, just so Apple doesn't have to build search themselves.
They've been "exploring" their own search engine for years but search is stupidly hard. Microsoft threw billions at Bing for decades and still can't crack 10% market share. Apple thinks they can do better? With what AI talent - the people who made Siri?
When DOJ breaks up Google's search monopoly, that $20B revenue stream dies. Building search becomes survival, not a nice-to-have project.
Walker was supposed to solve this nightmare. Instead he's leaving right before iPhone 17 production when Apple needs AI features most. They haven't named a replacement because nobody wants the impossible job of making Siri competitive when the company refuses to let you collect the data you'd need.