Inside Apple's Big Plan to Bring Generative AI to All Its Devices

Apple was caught flat-footed when ChatGPT and other AI tools took the technology industry by storm. But the company is now preparing its response — and plans to develop features for its full range of devices.

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One of the most intense and widespread endeavors at Apple right now is its effort to respond to the AI frenzy sweeping the technology industry. The company has some catching up to do.

Apple largely sat on the sidelines when OpenAI's ChatGPT took off like a rocket last year. It watched as Google and Microsoft rolled out generative AI versions of their search engines. Microsoft also updated its Windows apps with smarter assistants, and Amazon unveiled an AI-enhanced overhaul of Alexa. All the while, the only noteworthy AI release from Apple was an improved auto-correct system in iOS 17.

Now, Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook says that Apple has been working on generative AI technology for years. "There's a lot of anxiety about this and it's considered a pretty big miss internally," a person with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Read more in his Power On newsletter.

AI Stories Not to Miss

• YouTube is developing a tool powered by AI that would let creators record audio using the voices of famous musicians.?
• Inflection AI, an artificial intelligence startup that has raised more than $1.5 billion from investors, is seeking to coordinate with other industry leaders to limit the role that AI chatbots will play in elections.?
• Worried about the health of a tree? This startup's TreeTags are incorporating ChatGPT into its platform, which will allow trees and their owners to talk to each other directly.?

Subscribe to our free weekly AI-focused newsletter from Bloomberg Technology's Shirin Ghaffary.

Will AI Really Take My Job? Bosses Shouldn't Just Consider the Bottom Line, Expert Says

The meteoric rise of AI has catapulted the world into uncharted territory. That's good news for futurists like Amy Webb, who studies emerging technologies and uses quantitative and qualitative modeling to forecast how they’ll impact business and society.?

As founder and CEO of the Future Today Institute, Webb has been grappling with AI and all its concomitant fears, from end-of-humanity doomsday scenarios to market flash crashes and jobs destruction.

"People ask, 'Is AI taking my job? Or taking a bunch of jobs?' But nobody's asking, what would it take for that to be true," Webb said. Read our full interview.

Will 2024 Elections Be Safe From AI?

Some worry a new crop of AI tools that can make compelling images and written work in seconds could sway the 2024 US presidential election. But there could be a more immediate impact for voters: a rise in AI-generated emails and campaign ads from politicians.

“I am assuming both political parties are going to be using AI not only this election but every upcoming election,” Representative Ted Lieu, a California Democrat, said on the latest episode of the Bloomberg Originals series AI IRL when asked if the technology can help with campaigning. Watch more.

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