Apple is finally getting into the generative AI game — with a little support from an unlikely partner in OpenAI.
Apple CEO Tim Cook today announced the long-awaited reboot of Apple’s artificial intelligence at the global developer conference in Cupertino, California. What the company is calling Apple Intelligence, available in beta this fall, includes several features that will shape the iPhone, iPad and Mac experience in ways large and compact. Apple also gave Siri, its currently confined voice assistant, a significant upgrade to its generative artificial intelligence.
The company also announced that it will incorporate third-party AI models into its software, starting with OpenAI’s ChatGPT later this year, explaining that its apply will be opt-in only and will not require a ChatGPT subscription. Siri will determine whether the query can gain access to ChatGPT and then ask for permission to share information with the model. Apple said it will also apply other AI models in the future.
“We are excited to partner with Apple and bring ChatGPT to users in a new way,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a statement. “Apple shares our commitment to security and innovation, and this partnership aligns with OpenAI’s mission to make advanced AI accessible to everyone.”
Until now, Apple has been conspicuously absent from the headlines about generative artificial intelligence. Competitors like Google and Microsoft have rushed to adopt the technology since ChatGPT arrived on the scene in overdue 2022. Apple is clearly biding its time as it develops a comprehensive strategy across many of its products and services.
Craig Federighi, senior vice president of software engineering at Apple, said the company’s up-to-date AI strategy will focus on privacy and security. In addition to highlighting privacy-friendly apply cases for AI on devices, Federighi has introduced what the company calls Private Cloud Compute, a technology that aims to protect data even for more intensive AI tasks that require the cloud. “Your data is never stored or shared with Apple,” he said.
Apple has demonstrated Apple Intelligence technology in many applications. A system-wide feature called Writing Tools can spotless up text for grammar and readability and adjust the tone to be more affable and professional. Apple’s so-called Image Playground lets you create images across Apple, just like in Messages and Notes, including AI-generated contact images in three different styles: sketch, illustration and animation. You’ll also be able to create custom emojis using generative artificial intelligence, a feature Apple calls Genmoji. Refreshing Siri’s artificial intelligence will make the assistant better able to handle complicated spoken commands and find information even when the command is ambiguous.
Apple will also offer smaller generative AI algorithms that will run on devices. It says these algorithms will work faster and better protect user data. The company will need to strike a balance by emphasizing privacy and security while also moving toward greater apply of generative AI.
Before WWDC, it was widely rumored that Apple was working on a deal with OpenAI. At first glance, Apple and OpenAI seem particularly unlikely partners. Apple tends to deliver up-to-date products carefully and carefully, emphasizing attention to detail, obsession with user experience and stunning design. OpenAI is best known for throwing powerful but experimental up-to-date artificial intelligence technology into the world and seeing what people do with it.