Apple’s AI dilemma

When Tim Cook takes the stage in Cupertino at Apple’s big summer event next month, he’ll face a big AI dilemma: OpenAI or Google?

Ahead of Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June, there are strong indications that Apple is planning to collaborate with a competitor to bring the latest AI technology to iPhones. The latest indications are that it will be OpenAI.

Earlier this month, Bloomberg It was reported that Apple had “made a deal” with the maker of ChatGPT, OpenAIas the two companies “finalized the terms of the agreement for the use of ChatGPT features in Apple’s iOS 18 operating system.”

But it appears that talks with Google are continuing as well. Apple reportedly held talks with Google in March about a deal to integrate Gemini AI into iPhones. Gorman’s report this month said talks with Google were continuing. Cook seems to have options

As an avid ChatGPT user, he’s clearly interested in what OpenAI has to offer. Apple’s lucrative deal with Google to bring its search product to iPhones – a deal that will bring Apple a net profit of €18.44 billion in 2022, giving it a reason to continue working with them.

But recent developments show that Cook has not yet made his intentions clear: both OpenAI and Google have AI issues that could cause him “headaches” in the future.

difficult decision

See, for example, what happened to the maker of ChatGPT. This week, it was drawn into controversy after Scarlett Johansson accused ChatGPT of using a voice “eerily similar” to her own for a new voice feature equipped with its latest AI model, which… GPT-4o.

CEO of OpenAI, Mr Sam AltmanShe denied using a similar sound without her permission.

However, the case has highlighted a deeper issue with OpenAI that could reasonably be a concern for Apple. Many artists, publishers, and others worry that ChatGPT’s success depends on using other people’s work without their consent.

OpenAI is already facing tough litigation over the issue, with… Authors Union to sue the company amid concerns that authors’ work on models is being used to make profit.

However, Google doesn’t offer an easy alternative either. Last week a new feature called “Overviews of artificial intelligencewhich was revealed at Google I/O earlier this month, launched in the US with disastrous results.

Countless users have taken to social media to share some outrageous examples of Google’s failed attempt to use artificial intelligence to generate content-based summaries in response to search queries. In one case, a user was asked to apply “non-toxic glue” to a pizza to solve the problem of cheese not sticking to it.

In another case, Google’s AI application said the United States has a Muslim president — “Barack Hussein Obama” — in response to the question “How many Muslim presidents are there in the United States?”

This puts Apple in a difficult position. Apple urgently needs a new AI strategy to revamp its iPhones at a time when sales are declining in key markets such as China.

But allusions to its own research into large AI language models appear to have put it in a position where it is under pressure to consider a strategic partnership with one of two companies that have their own AI issues.

As it turns out, there are no easy options for Cook.