Apple Finally Releases AI

            On June 10, 2024, Apple announced its new artificial intelligence system called Apple Intelligence and its plan to release it this fall. While Apple does not plan to create or further push the capability of artificial intelligence, it plans to implement throughout the vast Apple ecosystem to bring a seamless experience for the user.

            The Apple ethos centers itself around hardware. All software such as such as IOS and MacOS are tailored specifically for Apple hardware. So, Apple Intelligence is only available for Apple hardware users, more specifically Macbook M1 or later or iPhone 15 users. These constraints allow Apple to build a more polished and user-friendly systems. The hardware is also a key to Apple Intelligence since the newer ARM based chips in Apple products are incredibly fast in running AI models compared to traditional computer chips, allowing for local AI computations to be rapidly executed. While most AI models rely on the power of a cloud server to run a model, Apple Intelligence runs locally on the device of the user. This not only allows for faster computations, but also more privacy as none of the personal information that may be contained on the device is sent to an external server. However, there are a few exceptions since some more complex computations require an external Apple server.

            One of the features that Apple promises is Writing Tools. Akin to grammar tools such as Grammarly AI, Writing Tools allows the users to reword text, summarize text, change the tone of text, and etc. Apple also promises image generation features such as Genmoji which are customized emoji through text descriptions which are transformed by AI. Furthermore, Apple’s Intelligence can remember people and create not only Genmoji’s but also use AI to alter images of them in Photos. Additionally, with Apple Intelligence, users can transform simple sketches into realistic images.

            Apple is also bringing these AI capabilities into Siri to tie all these elements into a well-rounded experience. Apple reworked Siri so that it is now able to utilize natural language processing, which is the system used in chatting AI models such as ChatGPT to interpret human text. Siri will also get an understanding of the personal context of the user. For example, users will be able to ask questions about their dinner plans and Siri will go through the users’ messages and check if any were made. If dinner plans were made, Siri would remind the users on the details. While this feature may seem invasive as it means that Siri looks into private messages, these actions will all be held locally unless they require more complex computations. If they do, consent will be asked before any information is sent.

            Even with many privacy measures in place, it seems to be the greatest concern for the implementation of AI into the Apple ecosystem. This is because, unlike other artificial intelligence models, Apple Intelligence will be embedded into the system and it will analyze private information. Apple Intelligence portends one of the most well-rounded AI systems distinct from any other, but it may come at a great cost.