Siri co-founder leaves Apple

 Dag Kittlaus, Siri co-founder and CEO from 2007, was an important person in establishing the service all the way until it was acquired by Apple in April 2010. Recently, he has left Apple - shortly after the launch of the iPhone 4S. It's not yet confirmed by Cupertino itself, but it's said that Kittlaus and Apple parted ways on an amicable note and the main reason behind Kittluas's decision was his determination to spend more quality time with his family in Chicago.

That doesn't affect the rest of the Siri team, though, which is expected to continue working with Apple. Kittlaus on his part was listed as director of iPhone apps at Apple. After leaving the company, Kittlaus will now focus on new entrepreneurial ideas.

The history of Siri goes back to forty years ago and a DARPA-funded CALO project, part of the bigger Personal Assistant that Learns (PAL) project. It is thus using many years of research, although, not all of the technologies from CALO have been put to use in Siri. 

You can use Siri for a range of tasks, but most importantly – the service leverages information about you from your phone and uses it as context for  better accuracy. Its range goes from commands concerning your contacts and the address book, the organizer, email, maps, notes, stocks and websearch.

Do you think that something will change in the way the project is developed after the parting of Kittlaus?