Apple is working on its own artificial intelligence powered chatbot that could challenge those of OpenAI and others, but the company has yet to devise a clear strategy for releasing the technology to consumers, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.
According to the report, the ‘Apple GPT’ uses its own large language model framework called as “Ajax,” a framework created to accelerate machine learning research. The report further said AI push has become a major effort for the iPhone maker, with several teams collaborating on the project. The work includes trying to address potential privacy concerns related to the technology.
Apple’s Ajax system is built on top of Google Jax, the search giant’s machine learning framework. Apple’s system runs on Google Cloud, which the company uses to power cloud services alongside its own infrastructure and Amazon.com Inc.’s AWS.
The AI technology has captured the imagination of consumers and businesses in recent months, leading to a stampede of related products. As other tech giants, including Meta, Microsoft, and Google, have moved quickly releasing generative AI products of their own, Apple has been conspicuous in its absence.
Though Apple has woven AI features into products for years, it’s now playing catch-up in the buzzy market for generative tools, which can create essays, images and even video based on text prompts. Its main artificial intelligence product, the Siri voice assistant, has stagnated in recent years. But the company has made AI headway in other areas, including improvements to photos and search on the iPhone. There’s also a smarter version of auto-correct coming to its mobile devices this year.
In an interview with Good Morning America, Apple CEO Tim Cook said AI is something that the company is “looking at closely.” He also expressed concerns about the flood of new AI services hitting the market. Bur he further added though the technology has potential, there are still a “number of issues that need to be sorted.” Apple will be adding AI to more of its products, he said, but on a “very thoughtful basis.”
The Bloomberg report says behind the scenes, Apple has grown concerned about missing a potentially paramount shift in how devices operate. Generative AI promises to transform how people interact with phones, computers and other technology. And Apple’s devices, which produced revenue of nearly $320 billion in the last fiscal year, could suffer if the company doesn’t keep up with AI advances.
That’s why Apple began laying the foundation for AI services with the Ajax framework, as well as a ChatGPT-like tool for use internally. Ajax was first created last year to unify machine learning development at Apple, according to the people familiar with the effort.
The company has already deployed AI-related improvements to search, Siri and maps based on that system. And Ajax is now being used to create large language models and serve as the foundation for the internal ChatGPT-style tool, the people said.
Apple is also still trying to determine the consumer angle for generative AI. It’s working on several related initiatives — a cross-company effort between its AI and software engineering groups, as well as the cloud services engineering team that would supply the infrastructure for any significant new features. While the company doesn’t yet have a concrete plan, people familiar with the work believe Apple is aiming to make a significant AI-related announcement next year.
Apple shares gained as much as 2.3% to a record high of $198.23 after Bloomberg reported on the AI effort Wednesday, rebounding from earlier losses. Microsoft Corp., OpenAI’s partner and main backer, slipped about 1% on the news.
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