Apple may add other chatbot options to Siri and Apple Intelligence beyond the starting partner OpenAI – think Google’s Gemini, Baidu’s Ernie in China, etc. – until they have their own homegrown GenAI capabilities.
Samantha Murphy Kelly for CNN:
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman… who has emerged as the poster child for generative AI in the 18 months since the launch of ChatGPT, was not featured in Apple’s formal [WWDC] presentation, neither in person or via livestream. Nor did he join Apple CEO Tim Cook and other executives in a private press event about privacy and security and the partnership between the two companies.
“I was not surprised Sam Altman did not appear on stage,” said Ben Wood, an analyst at market research firm CCS Insight in an interview with CNN. “Apple had to manage the message carefully. OpenAI is merely the vehicle to address broader AI-powered inquiries that are not core to the Apple experience. Having him in the livestream would have only created an unnecessary level of confusion.”
The company will offer OpenAI’s viral ChatGPT tool in a limited capacity, usually only when Siri is activated and needs more assistance answering an inquiry.
Andrew Cornwall, senior analyst at Forrester, told CNN he thinks it’s unlikely that Apple users will become loyal to ChatGPT, as many people won’t use the service unless the iPhone maker can’t provide an appropriate response.
“When users do query ChatGPT, Apple will track the prompts and gather metrics to improve its own models,” he said. “Apple may switch providers or even use more than one third party — until it has mastered its own model. At that point, Apple will shut the garden gate.”
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MacDailyNews Take: Yup.
As we explained back on April 1st:
Apple was caught flat-footed, due to a lack of vision on the part of leadership. They were, uh, focused elsewhere. Apple’s traditional data center network is not fit for generative AI. It will take years and billions of dollars to catch up just to where GenAI leaders (OpenAI, Microsoft, Alphabet, etc.) are today.
So, the only solution is to partner with a [Google, OpenAI, Baidu, etc.] for the real GenAI stuff while pretending (marketing) really hard that some on-device AI Apple has whipped up in a few months is “insanely great Apple innovation” that’s at the heart of Apple’s 2024’s AI announcements when it’s really just an adjunct… Watch Apple make a big show of its on-device AI at WWDC and run many ads touting it from June onwards.
Apple hopes to buy time for the data center buildouts and investments that will be required for them to someday own their own AI technology and not have to license it from the likes of [Google, OpenAI, Baidu, etc.].
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[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
