Apple has reportedly halted its electric car project and will move some of those engineers to work on AI, leading to questions like how the iPhone maker will incorporate more AI into its products, and whether it is creating its own AI-powered car — i.e. its own version of… ChatGPT.
On Tuesday, Bloomberg reported that Apple would cancel its much-rumored self-driving electric vehicle project, called Project Titan, after spending an estimated billions of dollars on research and development over a decade. The Wall Street Journal reported that some employees will be transferred to Apple's AI efforts, while others who work on automotive hardware will likely face layoffs.
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CEO Tim Cook was not asked about the car project, which the company has never officially confirmed, at its virtual annual meeting on Wednesday. But he again hinted at some potential news later this year in the field of generative AI, while also noting that Apple sees “amazing breakthrough potential for generative AI.”
“Later this year, I look forward to sharing the ways in which we can break new ground in generative AI, another technology that we believe can redefine the future,” Cook said on Wednesday, according to CNBC.
While some on Wall Street may think Apple is dead set on AI, that's not the case. The company has been working on its own version of ChatGPT, according to a Bloomberg report last summer, which it calls AppleGPT, and is building its own framework, called Ajax, for large language models. It's also been testing a generative AI tool called Ask with some AppleCare support employees, according to MacRumors. Bloomberg also reported that Apple is working on a system competing with Microsoft's MSFT system.
GitHub Copilot is for software developers, which uses artificial intelligence to predict entire blocks of code.
previously: Apple's Tim Cook explains why he doesn't want to show off artificial intelligence
Apple never comments on unannounced products. But many reports expect that the company will have some news about its latest AI work at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June. The company is currently seen on Wall Street as a laggard in the AI space compared to the rapid development of products by Microsoft's GOOG and Alphabet Inc.
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Google. However, it's worth noting that this is how Apple has operated for decades: by watching, waiting, and then improving existing but early tech products. However, whether the AI is moving too fast to catch up could be another potential problem.
Another item high on the list of what Apple might do with AI is use some of its big language models to improve Siri, its natural language digital assistant that helps iPhone users make phone calls, get directions and send texts. There have been many rumors about a Siri upgrade in the works.
“A billion dollars or so has been invested [Project Titan] “What is learned from him will provide greater knowledge about artificial intelligence that will impact all of their products in the future,” Tim Bajarin, chairman of Creative Strategies and a longtime Apple watcher, said in an email. “AI will reinvent Siri.”
While it seems hard to imagine right now that Apple would put a chatbot powered by generative AI — which consumes a lot of compute and power — on a mobile device, Wedbush Securities analysts believe the upcoming iPhone 16 will incorporate generative AI.
Whether or not such an app would be useful or attractive to iPhone users, or whether it would expand the market, is another big question.
Computer and chip makers have in the past couple of months been touting artificial intelligence on high-end devices like the personal computer. However, Apple, as a privacy-conscious company, may limit its AI systems to using only data that customers have on their own devices,
Bajarin also believes Apple's AI efforts will have a major impact on the company's new spatial computing headset, the Vision Pro, its first major new product in many years, and Apple's long-term vision for augmented reality and spatial computing. Wedbush's Dan Ives, who believes the Vision Pro will eventually shrink in size and be priced under $1,500, agrees that AI will play a big role in its future.
If Apple is already building its own generative AI system, will it be better and have fewer bugs than OpenAI's ChatGPT, or Google's Gemini? Will the company, which has focused on the privacy concerns of its users, take a more ethical approach to AI? By watching and waiting, Apple can adopt a highly ethical approach to AI, with better products.
How the company handles and advances the latest artificial intelligence technologies could be the biggest test ever of Cook's leadership.
