Apple held its annual WWDC24, with the world eagerly anticipating updates on its AI strategy, especially as it is perceived to be lagging behind Microsoft and Alphabet.
Disappointingly, Apple did not announce any groundbreaking AI advancements. However, Apple excels at branding, and true to its bold nature, it rebranded AI as Apple Intelligence.
Apple made some improvements to Siri, enhancing its language understanding and providing a more natural voice. It can now control apps more effectively and has become more pervasive after a new design. Additionally, Siri will be available on iPads and Macs, not just iPhones.
The most significant change is that Siri will now be able to ‘consult’ ChatGPT if users allow it. This positions Siri as an intermediary AI, with the potential for future linkups with other external models.
Critics are concerned about Apple’s ability to develop its own AI capabilities. However, it’s worth noting that Microsoft has taken a similar approach by collaborating with OpenAI and integrating ChatGPT into its cloud services, Bing search, Windows OS, and Office software.
Stratechery brought up an excellent point: Apple doesn’t need to develop its own AI, just as it didn’t need to build the best search engine in the world. Instead, it gets Google to pay billions each year to make Google Search the default on Apple devices. Essentially, Apple gets paid to use the best search engine. How about that!
This is possible because Apple has 2.2 billion active devices, and any software or AI requires a physical interface for humans to interact with. Thus, Apple wields gatekeeper power, and its main job is to ensure its devices remain highly desired by consumers.
The commercial details between Apple and OpenAI remain unclear, and it’s uncertain who ended up paying whom, as the arrangement was kept secret.
Another aspect of making AI more pervasive is the concern among some users about AI knowing every aspect of their lives. Apple has always touted its privacy protection capabilities, and with Apple Intelligence, it aims to assure users that AI requests will be processed on the device as much as possible. Only if greater computational capacity is needed will the required data be sent to Apple Silicon servers for processing, and such data will not be stored or accessible.
As with all technology, it’s a black box, and no one can be completely sure that companies like Apple do what they say. Additionally, when users grant Siri permission to consult ChatGPT, there are concerns about whether the data will be stored with OpenAI and used for training purposes.
Elon Musk has voiced his discontent about the Apple and OpenAI partnership. He stated that if the integration is at the OS level, he will ban Apple devices from all his company’s premises.
It’s unclear whether this is a personal grievance with OpenAI, a legitimate security concern, or both. Musk was a co-founder of OpenAI but left the company’s board in 2018 on a sour note after being rejected for taking control over OpenAI. Recently, Musk even sued OpenAI and Altman, alleging they deviated from the original vision of making AI a non-profit. Musk has since raised $6 billion to develop xAI to compete.
Following the introduction of Apple Intelligence, all Magnificent 7 companies are now in the AI race, making it a priority to incorporate these capabilities into their products and services. It’s a game of thrones, with companies forming alliances and competing simultaneously. For Apple, however, its primary focus must remain on being the king of devices, leveraging this as its key advantage. The rest of the WWDC session was dedicated to introducing new features on its devices to reinforce this position.