By Neil Tyler, Editor
Apple has unveiled a number of new features and a deal with Open AI as it looks to catch up with the AI being deployed by its rivals.
The company’s CEO, Tim Cook, made a series of announcements regarding generative AI products and services during his keynote at the company’s annual developer conference, WWDC.
Apple has been criticised for being slow to embrace AI, compared to many of its rivals, and has integrated fewer AI features into its consumer-facing products. Cook’s announcement is being seen, therefore, as a major shift in its strategy.
Apple’s new AI system involves a range of generative AI tools that can be used to automate and personalise experiences on its devices. AI will be integrated throughout the operating systems on the company’s Mac laptops, iPad tablets and iPhones. Apple is also set to integrate ChatGPT technology into responses with a new version of its voice assistant Siri.
The company’s lack of generative AI tools has concerned analysts and investors, and it has struggled over the past year with weakening global demand for its iPhone.
It seems that while Apple has been building up its AI capabilities it has been reluctant to enter the ‘AI game’ due to a desire to maintain its privacy-focused brand but Cook said that the company plans to usher in a “new standard for privacy in AI”.
Apple may be late to the party but if it’s able to protect users’ privacy that should be welcomed, but the pressure on it to deliver AI-powered services to reverse a decline in sales means it may have to compromise its principles as competition intensifies.
