OpenAI is expected to drive some, but not all, of the AI features Apple plans to introduce — improved contextual understanding in Siri may be one of those. It is therefore quite telling that The Information claims Apple wants to make it transparent to customers when they are making use of OpenAI.
We also believe Apple is working to introduce unique AI tools that work entirely on the device, as well as server-side solutions heavily protected by iCloud privacy and encryption technologies.
Rocks in the road
There are some challenges that may yet sour the relationships Apple and Microsoft have with OpenAI, not least the frequently voiced claims that safety, security, and potential baked-in bias are not being correctly managed by the AI company.
That’s a concern professionals across the AI industry have always understood. Even Apple’s former senior director of machine learning and artificial intelligence, Carlos Guestrin, warned that poorly managed data can deliver very bad results.
This is likely why Apple, which has been working in AI far longer than so many reporters seem to believe, has been proceeding slowly and deliberately. Tech is meant to make things better, not worse. You only need to look at the impact of the dark side of social media to see what happens when strong controls are not in place.
Chef’s kiss
All that aside, Apple’s response seems to have been to work in partnership with OpenAI, and — if the report is to be believed — to put transparency guards in place so people know where responses come from.
