'Something is rotten': Apple's AI strategy faces doubts

Apple CEO Tim Cook successful June 2024 announces plans to incorporated AI into Apple bundle and hardware. Photo: JUSTIN SULLIVAN / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/Getty Images via AFP/File
Source: AFP

Has Apple, the biggest institution successful the world, bungled its generative artificial quality strategy?

Doubts blew retired into the unfastened erstwhile 1 of the company's closest observers, tech expert John Gruber, earlier this period gave a blistering critique successful a blog station titled "Something Is Rotten successful the State of Cupertino," which is location to Apple's headquarters.

The respected expert and Apple enthusiast said helium was furious for not being much skeptical erstwhile the institution announced past June that its Siri chatbot would beryllium getting a large generative AI (genAI) upgrade.

The technology, to beryllium released arsenic portion of the Apple Intelligence suite of iPhone software, was to catapult the much-derided dependable assistant's capabilities beyond conscionable giving the upwind oregon mounting a timer.

Investors hoped the upgrade would motorboat the iPhone connected a much-needed super-cycle, successful which a caller feature connected the smartphone proves truthful tantalizing that users unreserved to drawback up the latest and astir costly models.

Apple Intelligence and its promised Siri upgrade was precise overmuch expected to substance that demand, starting arsenic soon arsenic the merchandise of the iPhone 16, which came retired successful September.

Instead Apple softly announced connected March 7 that the highly personalized Siri would not beryllium coming arsenic aboriginal arsenic hoped.

Adding to the pressure, Amazon successful February announced a caller mentation of its Alexa dependable adjunct that is powered by genAI.

"It's going to instrumentality america longer than we thought to present connected these features and we expect rolling them retired successful the coming year," Apple said.

Data privateness vs AI

Theories alteration connected wherefore Apple is having occupation seizing the AI moment.

For Marcus Collins, selling prof astatine the University of Michigan, Apple's struggles with genAI and Siri successful peculiar whitethorn beryllium much owed to the value the institution gives to information privateness than immoderate occupation with innovating.

For AI to beryllium personalized, it needs to devour monolithic amounts of idiosyncratic data.

And "Apple hasn't fto up connected the state erstwhile it comes to privacy," Collins told AFP.

But astatine immoderate point, "people's information, creations, language... are each being exploited to assistance turn amended AI," and squaring that ellipse mightiness beryllium harder than bargained for by Apple.

For tech expert Avi Greengart, "The information that Apple has advertised Apple Intelligence truthful heavy with the iPhone 16 is simply a spot of a achromatic eye, due to the fact that astir of what was promised successful Apple Intelligence is not successful the iPhone 16."

But helium cautions that adjacent if Google's Gemini AI features successful its Android enactment of phones are mode up of thing Apple has delivered, customers whitethorn not person noticed much.

"Even the champion implementation of AI connected phones contiguous doesn't fundamentally alteration the mode you usage your telephone yet," helium said.

"No 1 has delivered connected the afloat imaginativeness and that gives Apple clip to drawback up -- but it surely needs to drawback up."

Still, Apple's harshest critics kick that Apple rests excessively overmuch connected its laurels and the uber-popularity of its iPhone.

Moreover, the stumbles connected AI came swiftly aft lackluster reception of Vision Pro, Apple's costly virtual world headset that has failed to summation traction since its merchandise successful 2024.

Despite the caller antagonistic headlines for Apple and the information that its stock terms is down 8 percent since the commencement of the year, it remains the world's astir invaluable institution and its banal is inactive up astir 30 percent from a twelvemonth ago.

And Apple reported a whopping $124.3 cardinal successful gross successful the year-end vacation quarter, adjacent if income maturation fell shy of marketplace expectations.

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Source: AFP