The Tech Roundup

March 23, 2026

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Apple just admitted Siri needs help — and the fix is coming from its biggest rival. Here's what that means for your iPhone, your privacy, and a few other things worth knowing today.

🔍 The Big Story

Apple Is Rebuilding Siri With Google's AI — and It's Kind of a Big Deal

For years, Siri was the assistant everyone made fun of. Set a timer? Sure. Book a dinner reservation based on what your friend texted you? Not a chance. Meanwhile, ChatGPT and other AI assistants were getting genuinely useful, and Apple was falling behind.

So Apple did something it almost never does: it admitted it needed outside help. In January, the company struck a deal worth roughly $1 billion a year to rebuild Siri using Google's Gemini AI — the same technology that powers Google's own AI assistant. The new Siri will be "context-aware," meaning it can see what's on your screen and take action across your apps. Think of it less like a voice command button and more like an assistant who can actually read the room.

Why does this matter? Because more than one billion people use iPhones. That's one billion people who are about to get a dramatically smarter AI assistant without downloading anything new. The biggest upgrade is expected at Apple's developer conference in June, but the direction is clear: Siri is getting rebuilt from scratch, and this time, Apple is betting on Google to do the heavy lifting.

There are questions worth sitting with, though. Google already has access to a lot of your data through Search, Gmail, and Maps. Adding Gemini to the iPhone raises fair questions about what Apple is trading away in this deal — and whether the privacy protections Apple has long marketed will hold up under the new arrangement.

What can I do with this?

  • If you've given up on Siri, it's worth giving it another try later this year — especially after Apple's June developer conference, when the bigger upgrade is expected to roll out.
  • Pay attention to Apple's privacy disclosures around the new Siri. Look for settings that let you limit what data is shared with Google under the hood.
  • In the meantime, if you want a preview of where Siri is headed, try using Google's Gemini app (free on iPhone) for a few days — it's built on the same model Apple is now paying for.

📋 In Brief

The White House Wants to Be the Only One Setting AI Rules

The Trump administration released its national AI policy blueprint last week, and it has a clear message for states: step aside. The framework asks Congress to override any state AI laws that create "undue burdens" on AI companies. That would affect laws in more than a dozen states — including ones that require companies to disclose when you're talking to a bot, or that protect workers from being screened out by algorithms in hiring decisions.

The framework also takes a firm stance that training AI on copyrighted material should not be considered a copyright violation. That would be a major win for AI companies currently fighting lawsuits from authors, musicians, and news organizations who claim their work was used without permission.

None of this is law yet — Congress still has to act. But the direction is set: a light federal touch on AI development, with fewer protections at the state level.

What can I do with this?

  • If you care about state-level AI protections (hiring algorithm transparency, chatbot disclosures), now is a good time to contact your Congressional representatives — this is early in the legislative process and public input matters.
  • Follow how your state's attorney general responds, especially in California, Colorado, and Illinois, which have some of the strongest AI consumer protection laws currently on the books.

Perplexity's New Product Is an AI That Works While You Sleep

AI search company Perplexity just launched something genuinely new: a product called "Personal Computer" that turns a dedicated Mac Mini into an AI agent that runs 24/7. It can access your files, browse the web, manage apps, and complete complex multi-step tasks on your behalf — all without you needing to be at your desk.

Sensitive actions require your approval, and it logs everything it does so you can review it. It costs $200 a month and is currently available only by waitlist.

At that price, it's not for most people yet. But it points to where AI is clearly heading in 2026: away from chatbots you type questions into, and toward AI assistants that proactively work on your behalf in the background. If your job involves managing emails, research, or repetitive digital tasks, this is worth watching.

What can I do with this?

  • If the $200/month price tag is too steep, keep an eye on competitors — Google, Microsoft, and others are building similar "agent" features into tools you already use, and many will be included in existing subscriptions.
  • Perplexity offers a free tier of its AI search tool. It's worth trying as a research assistant even if you don't sign up for Personal Computer.

⚡ Quick Hits
  • Elon Musk's $25 billion chip factory: Musk announced "Terafab," a joint chip manufacturing facility backed by Tesla, SpaceX, and his AI company xAI, planned for Austin, Texas. It aims to produce the most advanced chips currently available and, unusually, 80% of output is earmarked for space-based AI satellites. Volume production is targeted for 2027. (Bloomberg)
  • AI is speeding up Alzheimer's drug research: A team of UC Santa Barbara grad students launched ProFoldBio, a startup that uses AI to simulate and predict which drug candidates are most likely to work — before running a single physical lab test. Drug development normally takes 10–15 years and billions of dollars. Tools like this could meaningfully compress that timeline for diseases like Alzheimer's, where effective treatments are desperately needed. (KEYT News)

💡 One Thing to Try This Week

Ask Gemini to read your screen.

Since Apple's new Siri will be powered by Gemini, now is a great time to get familiar with what Gemini can actually do. Download the free Google Gemini app on your iPhone or Android. Once you're in, try this: share a screenshot of an email, article, or document and ask Gemini to summarize it, draft a reply, or pull out key action items.

It takes about 5 minutes and gives you a real sense of the "context-aware" AI features Apple is betting its Siri upgrade on. You might be surprised how useful it already is — and you'll know exactly what's coming to your iPhone later this year.

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