The Evolution of AI: Apple's Quiet Foray into the Realm of Artificial Intelligence

Whilst tech titans like OpenAI and Google are at the forefront of the AI revolution, there's another player, Apple, quietly yet determinedly carving its own niche in the artificial intelligence landscape.

According to recent reports by Bloomberg, spearheaded by insider Mark Gruman, Apple is rumoured to be developing its own AI solutions, demonstrating its readiness to rival the existing big guns in the generative AI domain.

The Cupertino giant has purportedly established an in-house framework to develop large language models (LLMs). These AI-driven mechanisms are the powerhouse behind advanced offerings like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Bard.

Codenamed "Ajax", this project forms the foundation for a fresh innovation - a chatbot service informally christened as "Apple GPT" by the company's engineers. Nevertheless, this potentially groundbreaking tool remains accessible solely within the Apple ecosystem, fueling anticipation for a significant announcement slated for next year.

The Bloomberg report suggests that Apple's clandestine venture into AI underlines its appreciation of AI's transformative role in the technological sphere. With rivals like Microsoft, Google, and Amazon already making headway into the AI realm, Apple's foray into the AI landscape has stimulated investor enthusiasm, temporarily boosting the company's stock value.

Historically, Apple has been somewhat reserved in its usage of AI jargon. It favours terms like "machine learning" over "artificial intelligence" and prefers to showcase how the technology is embodied in its product features.

For instance, at the 2023 WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference), Apple introduced "Adaptive Audio" for the AirPods, which can assess ambient sound and adapt its settings accordingly. Despite its AI-powered underpinning, Apple presented it merely as a smart feature.

Moreover, the company is progressing in AI through additional enhancements to applications like Photos and iPhone searches and even an upgraded auto-correct feature for its mobile devices. These incremental strides into AI suggest a careful and calculated approach, keeping in sync with Apple's long-standing ethos.

As Daniel Ives, a technology analyst from Wedbush Securities, expressed in an interview with The Atlantic, Apple's recent AI features are merely the "appetiser before the main entrée." According to Ives, Apple has invested between $8 to $10 billion in AI over the past four to five years, an investment that mirrors Microsoft's OpenAI funding.

However, Apple's primary AI offering, Siri, appears to have plateaued in recent years. CEO Tim Cook, in a May conference call, elucidated Apple's plan to incorporate AI into more products "on a very thoughtful basis."

While Apple's competitors typically rely on server farms, supercomputers, and vast quantities of data to build AI models, Apple prefers to house its AI models directly on its devices.

Apple's venture into AI may be more subtle than its counterparts, but these silent strides shouldn't be mistaken for inactivity. Rather, they may be indicative of a potentially transformative shift in device operations, ensuring that Apple remains at the forefront of the AI revolution.

This blog post reflects my personal insights and opinions, drawing on publicly available information and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Apple Inc.