Apple has made a major move in the AI race in its annual developers conference, announcing the launch of Apple Intelligence.
The new personalised AI model will be integrated into Apple products, such as their iPhone and Macbooks,
The tech giant has largely been absent, or at least lagging behind, in the AI race. Its slower pace has seen it be overtaken by Microsoft, and then Nvidia, resulting in the company slumping from first to third most valuable company in the world.
The new AI feature will see ChatGPT integrated with Apple’s offerings, including with its chatbot Siri, to offer greater assistance in navigating its products.
The integration of ChatGPT relies on a partnership with its creator, OpenAI, which is also in a partnership with rival Microsoft for its AI development.
The new system, Apple Intelligence, will use ChatGPT to enhance Siri’s responses to queries, as well as boost text and content generation capabilities on Apple devices.
It will see AI integrated into almost all of Apple’s services, from text editing and refinement to driving directions.
The tech, which will be rolled out as a pilot in the autumn, is similar to Microsoft’s Copilot AI feature, but will come at no extra charge on new Apple devices.
Apple, which has long justified its high price tag with top security assurances, stressed the data security and privacy of Apple Intelligence to developers.
Some AI processes will be carried out on individuals’ phones, while others which require more power will be sent to the cloud. AI’s requirements include a hefty energy tag and an vast swath of data, meaning that many functions rely on cloud data storage and data centres to be carried out. Apple has stressed that while this will occur, no data will be stored in the clouds used to process AI tasks.
Apple’s deepened move into the AI race comes at a pivotal time for OpenAI. Microsoft and Google’s own AI bots have suffered scrutiny at the hands of the public eye, with Google’s own AI turning up answers to use glue on pizza and to eat rocks.
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Entering the field with a partnership in place rather than in launching their own product is unlike tech giant Apple, which has faced multiple anti-trust lawsuits forcing it to open up its app to rival developers and apps.
While Apple may be looking to strengthen its position in the AI arena, this partnership, and Apple’s coinciding confidence in ChatGPT, could also strengthen OpenAI’s dominance in the AI.
“Gartner predicts that in 3 years, there will be hardly any conversational platforms left on the market (if any) that are NOT powered by an LLM,” Annette Zimmerman, VP analyst of the emerging technologies and trends team at Gartner said.
“Chatbots, avatars, and virtual assistants without GenAI technology will not be competitive any longer, that’s how disruptive GenAI has become .”
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Source: Apple Announces Chat-GPT-backed Apple Intelligence at WWDC
