ChatGPT: Apple’s commitment to AI with the incorporation of the chatbot to its iPhones (and the criticism it generates)

Apple wants to relaunch its Siri voice assistant and its operating system with the incorporation of ChatGPT, from OpenAI, in an attempt to catch up in the artificial intelligence race. (AI)

The iPhone maker announced the revamp of Siri along with other new features at its annual developer presentation on Monday.

It will be part of a new custom AI system it has called “Apple Intelligence,” which aims to give users an easier way to navigate Apple devices.

Updates to its iPhone and Mac operating systems will enable access to ChatGPT through a partnership with developer OpenAI.

According to the company, ChatGPT can also be used to power other tools, including text and content generation. The trial version will be available in the fall.

Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, said as he opened the Worldwide Developers Conference at the tech giant’s headquarters in Cupertino, California, that this bet would take his company’s products “to new heights.”

The announcement was not well received by everyone. Elon Musk, the owner of Tesla and X (former Twitter), threatened to ban iPhones from his companies for what he considers problems in “data security”.

“Apple has no idea what really happens once they hand over their data to OpenAI,” Musk said on X. “They’re selling you,” he added.

Apple has come under pressure in recent months to introduce new AI features into its products after a rapid rise in rivals adopting the technology.

After being displaced by Microsoft as the most valuable company in the world in January, in June its valuation was also surpassed by Nvidia, a company focused on software related to AI and chip manufacturing.

Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight, said that while Apple’s new personal AI system “should help placate nervous investors,” the ChatGPT integration may surface and create deeper problems for the company.

“This arguably shows Apple admitting its limitations, as ChatGPT will intervene at a point where Siri can no longer help a user,” he told the BBC.

Apple has been largely absent in the flood of AI products launched by technology companies in recent months.

Cook told investors in 2023 that the company would approach this new technology cautiously.

“Apple Intelligence” is not a product or application in its own right.

It will become part of all Apple apps and products that use client programs, whether it’s a writing assistant that refines your draft messages or shows you the best route to your next appointment.

In that sense, it is similar to Microsoft’s Copilot AI assistant, but you don’t have to pay extra to activate it.

Siri, the voice assistant that Apple acquired in 2010, has been updated with a new interface and a more conversational approach to help users navigate devices and applications seamlessly.

Apple took pains to emphasize the security of “Apple Intelligence” during Monday’s presentation.

Some of the processing will be carried out on the device itself, while larger actions, which require more energy, will be sent to the cloud, but no data will be stored there, according to company officials.

This is crucial for customers who pay premium prices for Apple’s privacy promises.

The system “puts powerful generative models at the heart of your iPhone, iPad and Mac,” said Apple senior vice president of software engineering Craig Federighi.

“It builds on your personal context to provide you with information that is more useful and relevant to you, and protects your privacy at every step.”

Apple’s decision to integrate OpenAI’s ChatGPT technology had been widely anticipated in the market, but it is an unusual measure for a company that protects its own products as jealously as Apple.

Google and Microsoft have recently come under scrutiny for mistakes made by their AI products in recent months, with the search giant having to pull a new feature in May after its erroneous answers to user queries were reported. they went viral.

For years, Apple refused to allow its customers to download apps outside of its App Store for security reasons and did not authorize any web browser other than its own Safari for the same reason.

It only started doing so when it was forced by European Union legislation.

Are we then facing a recognition that not even Apple is now in a position to compete with OpenAI and its ChatGPT?

If so, it says a lot about the current power of the AI ​​giant.

Apple said it would integrate other products in the future, but did not reveal which ones.

It also announced that its Vision Pro mixed reality headset will go on sale in the UK on July 12. In the United States it went on sale in February.

Other notable features announced by Apple are:

• Sending text messages via satellite.
• Scheduling messages to be sent later.
• Using gestures, such as nodding or shaking your head, to control AirPods Pro.
• A specific application to manage passwords that will be accessible from different devices.
• Ability to hide some applications or lock them under passwords or the Face ID facial recognition system.

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