Article is junk but I'm curious if their fever dream is even possible on iOS - would the permission structure let an app read screens, click buttons etc.?

If there was genuine user agent competition/differentiation I think it would take an EU antitrust action to force apple to open a "siri replacement" API up.

And if I'm apple I'd be finding a way to make apple-only silicon "part of" siri, at least in the eyes of a future EU court.