Apple is poised to launch a range of generative artificial intelligence products and services, including a joint-project with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI – sparking concerns around user privacy, the Guardian reports.
The company’s CEO, Tim Cook, made the announcement on Monday. He also emphasised that Apple would “apply this technology in a responsible way” and usher in a “new standard for privacy in AI.”
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk was one of the move’s detractors, responding to Cook’s announcement with a post on X implying the move could put Apple on a slippery slope. “If Apple integrates OpenAI at the [operating system] OS level, then Apple devices will be banned at my companies,” Musk cautioned. “That is an unacceptable security violation.”
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The bulk of Apple’s new AI tools – dubbed ‘Apple Intelligence’ – were built in-house using proprietary models. The company has noted that while these would be integrated throughout the operating systems on its Mac laptops, iPad tablets and iPhones to create automated, personalised experiences for users, tools built with external models from the likes of OpenAI would require an explicit opt-in from its users.
The OpenAI partnership is behind an update to Apple’s voice assistant, Siri. The new version of Siri would function more like an AI chatbot, thanks to ChatGPT technology, and deliver a “more natural, more contextually relevant and more personal” user experience, according to Apple executives. To do this, Siri would gain access to users’ emails, text messages and photos to find specific information based on relevant context.
Up until now, Apple has been more reticent than other tech companies when it comes to integrating its products with AI – a stance that had impressed those concerned with privacy violations, but was ultimately considered a reason for weakening demand for its products.
