What does Apple’s foray into artificial intelligence mean?
After months of hesitation, Apple has decided to openly enter the generative AI race, as the company is currently preparing the infrastructure in place to enable it to integrate generative AI into its products, chief among them the iPhone.
With the increasing adoption and spread of generative artificial intelligence technology (considered one of the most significant technological changes in modern history), a Bloomberg report revealed that the iPhone maker is secretly working on its own artificial intelligence project “Ajax”, which includes the creation of a chatbot called by Apple GPT’s internal engineers, and its goal is to compete with ChatGPT, Cool and other robots.
The report also revealed that Apple built the framework to create “large language model” algorithms responsible for enabling generative AI to perform a variety of tasks, including creating text and images, conversationally answering questions, predicting words, and constructing sentences in a human-like manner, in addition to translating text.
So far, Apple has not disclosed plans to launch any services, products or programs related to the “Ajax” project, which appears to have been first formed last year under the title of unifying the development of machine learning within the company.
Apple has avoided speaking publicly about its intentions to embrace generative artificial intelligence over the past few months. While other tech giants are engaged in an arms race with a new generation of artificial intelligence, Apple has been slow to do so. This was evident at the launch of the Vision Pro glasses in June 2023, when company executives avoided using the term “artificial intelligence,” saying instead that the product uses technology powered by machine learning.
It was also at that time that Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed in an interview with the media that generative artificial intelligence still has many problems to be solved, and announced that the company will be thoughtful about adding this technology to its products.
Apple realizes that generative AI isn’t a bubble
Technology analyst Rayan Mortada told Sky News Arab Economics that company ownership of the means to generate AI has become a major requirement for any organization seeking to ensure its future existence, as Apple has fully realized that the emergence of a new generation of AI and the companies rushing to adopt the technology it has witnessed over the past eight months is not just a bubble, and is what has pushed it to race before it is too late. The company is currently preparing for the next steps in this field by hiring engineers with experience in the field of artificial intelligence, which proves that Apple currently has about 179 job openings, all of which are related to machine learning and natural language processing.
Technology will permeate all of Apple’s services
Ryan explained that Apple’s foray into generative AI won’t be limited to launching Apple GPT to compete with Bard and ChatGPT, as the new technology will permeate every service, feature, and component Apple offers in its phones or other products, from Face ID technology to batteries, to cameras, photos, keyboards, maps, apps, Siri, and many other things.
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Apple threatens its competitors
Mortada said that Apple has always sought to differentiate itself, so entering the generative AI race has the potential to overthrow many of its competitors in this space, and this has to do with the many advantages the company has, starting with a large and loyal consumer base spanning iPhones, iPads, smartwatches, and laptops, suggesting that easy integration between Apple GPT and Apple products could push more than a billion people around the world (users of iOS devices) to adopt programs offered by the iPhone maker, especially if those options are offered by other companies, which would be mired in privacy issues, inaccuracies, and illusions.
The company’s approach gave Apple GPT a sweep over rivals
Mortada believes that Apple has always made privacy one of its fundamental principles, especially in recent years, which will make its generative AI products more compact than the models Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI are rushing to roll out, which are arguably far from perfect.
Apple GPT is just the first step
Dadi Geagea, a technology affairs expert, said in an interview with Sky News Arab Economy that Apple’s entry into the field of generative artificial intelligence will not constitute a repetition of its competitors, but rather to put its own stamp on this field. From here, it can be emphasized that Apple’s GPT is only the first step, because generative artificial intelligence will lead to changes in the way people interact with mobile phones and various electronic devices. Therefore, Apple is trying to keep its products up to the pace of technological change to prevent its sales from being damaged, especially iPhone sales. The company generated about 320 billion U.S. dollars in the last fiscal year income.
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A revolution in the telephone industry
Geagea added that thanks to generative artificial intelligence, the world will witness a revolution in the mobile phone industry. He revealed that Apple’s entry into this field means that the iPhone will become a super-smart device capable of generating images, generating text and talking to users, and producing voices similar to its operator’s voice. Artificial intelligence software now exists in batteries, cameras and keyboards, which means that the experience will be completely different.
Geagea predicts that Apple will have a lot of surprises in its artificial intelligence projects when it launches a new phone in 2024, or even in September 2023.
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