Apple to Integrate AI into All its Devices
Apple is poised to establish its presence in the AI market, intending to enhance all its products and applications with the in-house LLM.
However, the clock is ticking. While other tech giants have been dazzling the public with an array of AI innovations, Apple’s contributions have remained relatively modest, with enhancements like an improved autocorrect system in iOS 17. Though Apple CEO Tim Cook has asserted that the company has been exploring generative artificial intelligence technology for several years, it seems that the swift success of ChatGPT caught the “Apple aficionados” off guard. In the meantime, Google and Microsoft have successfully integrated AI into their search engines, Bill Gates has enriched Windows applications with smart assistants, and Amazon has substantially upgraded its virtual assistant Alexa.
In the meantime, Apple's LLM named Ajax is undergoing closed testing. There is still no clear answer to whether Ajax will be able to compete on equal footing with other AI models. However, it is already known that the owners are prepared to allocate a substantial $1 billion to this project over the coming year.
This is a hefty sum, even for a company as affluent as Apple, and it emphatically illustrates the extent of Apple's commitment to catching up with the frontrunners in artificial intelligence. Efforts are progressing in multiple directions, encompassing the enhancement of the digital assistant Siri, the incorporation of AI functionalities into the iOS operating system, and the enrichment of various company applications with AI capabilities.
What can average users anticipate? Thanks to AI and machine learning, Siri is set to become even smarter and more conversational. You will be able to pose any question to her and receive a natural, pertinent reply. Siri will also curate personalized music playlists for you, “scanning” your emotions and accounting for your preferences. Furthermore, there are plans to enable Siri to transform your photos and videos into gifs, and even memes.
The messaging app upgrade will offer responses or reactions based on the dialogue's context and generate personalized stickers and emojis.
The Apple Music streaming platform will be able to create playlists considering your previously listened tracks and your current mood. It will also suggest new songs and even artists you might not be familiar with, which, according to the AI, match your musical preferences. This initiative is similar to the collaborative project introduced by Spotify and OpenAI in February 2023.
Furthermore, Apple specialists aim to integrate AI into the Xcode app development tool, creating competition for Microsoft's GitHub Copilot, which offers auto-complete suggestions to developers while coding. Apple is also researching how AI could enhance user skills within the Pages and Keynote applications, which seems to be in line with the AI upgrades Microsoft has already implemented in Word and PowerPoint.
Inside the Apple team, there is a heated debate about how to deploy AI. Should it be embedded in every device or rely on cloud-based artificial intelligence? The former ensures privacy and autonomous operation time, yet it might falter due to the device's hardware limitations. On the other hand, cloud usage enables more complex operations.
Thus, Apple's artificial intelligence is currently in a holding pattern. Success is still within reach, even with a late entry into the AI market. Apple's challenge is to create a flawless and secure technology, something the current AI market leaders have yet to achieve.
