Apple Intelligence: iPhone maker takes control with its own AI vision

The most anticipated collaboration in Silicon Valley was announced so abruptly that the attendees at Apple's base in Cupertino barely had the opportunity to show their approval.

People who were hoping to see Sam Altman from OpenAI, a prominent figure in the AI industry, join Tim Cook on stage at Apple's important developer conference for a memorable photo moment were let down.

Apple's event on Monday centered around one thing: themselves. They emphasized that their association with OpenAI was only the beginning of a series of partnerships.

Apple is assuring investors who are concerned about its technology falling behind that it has an advantage when it comes to the next generation of artificial intelligence. While the initial phase of generative AI focused on understanding the big picture, Apple believes it has the expertise to bring about generative AI that truly comprehends a user's individual needs and desires.

This indicates that the highest priority was given to the generative AI models developed by Apple itself. The term "Apple Intelligence" refers to a collection of models created and honed by Apple, which will be integrated into their upcoming operating systems: iOS 18, iPadOS18, and macOS Sequoia.

The company hasn't created as advanced and big generative models as its competitors. Instead, it has chosen to serve as a connector to other existing products that are capable of performing tasks that Apple lacks. Meanwhile, Apple's on-device fundamental model contains 3 billion parameters, but OpenAI's GPT-40 and Google's Gemini Pro are believed to have over a trillion parameters, showing a much larger scale of complexity.

At Deepwater Asset Management, Gene Munster said that he was not surprised that Apple decided to prioritize its own solutions. Munster believes that Apple wants to highlight its authority and power in the industry. According to him, there is a significant difference in the abilities of Apple's model compared to OpenAI's, and he thinks that Apple doesn't want to publicize this.

Both Apple and OpenAI have not disclosed if the collaboration includes monetary compensation. This is similar to how Google pays around $20 billion annually to Apple for being the primary search engine on their iPhones.

During the keynote presentation, Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice-president for software, mentioned that they are aware of other models available in the market. Some of these models have an exceptional understanding of the world. However, Apple is beginning with what they believe is the best option. Additionally, they are already looking into negotiating another agreement with Google regarding Gemini.

According to Munster, Apple may be centered on its own answers, however, there is a change in culture happening. Munster further explained that Apple's Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology depends on someone else's efforts. He mentioned that Apple has never outsourced a key technology from a third party before. As for the company's long-standing collaboration with Google, it only touches a feature on the device. On the other hand, AI is more than just a feature, it is the operating system.

Apple is highlighting its classic distinguishing characteristic by emphasizing the privacy and security benefits that its on-device models provide. It ensures that any personal data used to train its own AI models will remain within its ecosystem, with the models operating as much as possible on the device. If they require cloud usage, requests will only be made to Apple-owned and managed servers. In essence, the ultimate goal is to ensure that users are unaware of the technology in use.

The capabilities that this brings about are quite remarkable. Some of these include the ability to create unique emojis, edit photos intelligently to remove undesired individuals or objects, have aids for writing and drawing, and an even more advanced Siri that can comprehend context better and work with both Apple and third-party apps. These improvements are gradual, as the iPhone and its productivity tools gradually become more intelligent as the hardware becomes more advanced, and Apple's own models become more sophisticated.

For now, the responsibility of answering complicated inquiries assigned to Siri will be given to ChatGPT. This could consist of tasks like capturing an image of a specific ingredient and utilizing OpenAI's technology to suggest recipes. Additionally, it will be incorporated into Apple's writing programs.

Individuals will not be compelled to use the function and will be given a notification from Siri beforehand. OpenAI, on the other hand, ensures that "integrated" safety measures are in place every time Siri contacts ChatGPT. Appeals will not be kept, preventing a third party from forming a summary of a person, and IP addresses will be concealed. People have the option to attach their ChatGPT profile, resulting in the application of ChatGPT's data protocols.

The recent move made by OpenAI has not made Tesla's CEO and X owner, Elon Musk, happy. He expressed that Apple seems incapable of developing their own AI and has no understanding of what OpenAI will do with the data. Musk even stated that if OpenAI becomes incorporated with Apple devices, he will completely prohibit them in his companies due to the unacceptable security violation it poses.

Musk's involvement highlighted the significant examination that AI collaborations in the tech industry are facing. Regulators have made a commitment to take action against any instances of too much power being concentrated.

In the meantime, in order to access Apple's latest features, individuals must have the latest and most advanced iPhones such as the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, which come with the newest A17 Pro chip. If one is looking to use the features on laptops or tablets, they should have devices equipped with the M series of chips from 2020.

As iPhone users hold onto their older devices for extended periods of time, the use of newer, more demanding apps strains the older hardware. This creates an urge for users to upgrade to newer models, even ones that are smaller in size. The upcoming release of the iPhone 16 later this year will focus heavily on promoting its generative AI features to entice users to upgrade.

The IDC research group's data and analytics vice-president, Francisco Jeronimo, stated that this moment signifies the start of a new chapter for Apple and its users. The tech giant is positioning itself to make the most of the upcoming "supercycle" of device sales by shifting toward new "intelligent devices."

On Monday, the value of Apple shares went down, however, they strongly rebounded on Tuesday morning, surging over 3 percent and reaching an all-time high.