Apple CEO Tim Cook dinner (2nd R) greets clients as he arrives for the discharge of the Imaginative and prescient Professional headset on the Apple Retailer in New York Metropolis on February 2, 2024.
Angela Weiss | AFP | Getty Photographs
Apple CEO Tim Cook dinner mentioned on Wednesday that his firm is pouring cash into synthetic intelligence, one of many strongest alerts but that the iPhone maker is embracing the generative AI craze that is consumed the tech business.
The corporate sees “unbelievable breakthrough potential for generative AI, which is why we’re at present investing considerably on this space,” Cook dinner mentioned at Apple’s annual shareholder assembly, which was held nearly. “We imagine it’s going to unlock transformative alternatives for our customers on the subject of productiveness, downside fixing and extra.”
Apple hasn’t unveiled competing merchandise to fashions like OpenAI’s GPT or Google’s Gemini, however he teased a serious announcement coming this yr.
“Later this yr, I stay up for sharing with you the methods we’ll break new floor in generative AI, one other know-how we imagine can redefine the long run,” Cook dinner mentioned.
Cook dinner additionally reframed a number of introduced Apple merchandise as “AI-powered,” to emphasise that the corporate has been engaged on the know-how for years. Up to now, the corporate tended to keep away from the time period AI in favor of machine studying.
Present options that use Apple’s AI know-how embrace the Imaginative and prescient Professional’s hand monitoring software and Apple Watch’s coronary heart fee alerts, Cook dinner mentioned. He additionally mentioned that Apple’s chips inside its MacBooks are able to operating AI.
“AI is woven into our customers’ lives for all types of duties, from the on a regular basis to the important,” Cook dinner mentioned. “AI permits Apple Watch that will help you monitor your exercises, robotically detecting whether or not you are taking a stroll or going for a swim. It allows your iPhone to name for assist when you’re in a automobile accident.”
Apple typically broadcasts new software program merchandise and options in June at its annual developer’s convention.
On the assembly, Cook dinner was not requested concerning the Apple Automobile mission, which he’d beforehand referred to as the “mom of all AI tasks.” Staff had been instructed on Tuesday that this system was being disbanded.
In response to a common query about what merchandise the corporate chooses to launch, Cook dinner mentioned “a lot of that is about focus.”
The remarks got here after Apple shareholders rejected a proposal that might compel the corporate to supply a report on AI dangers.
The proposal submitted by the AFL-CIO Index Funds was learn on the assembly by Apple retail worker and union organizer Michael Forsythe and would have pushed the corporate to reveal moral pointers for AI. Apple opposed the hassle, claiming such a transfer might disclose firm secrets and techniques.
On the assembly, shareholders authorized Apple’s board of administrators, together with electing former Aerospace CEO Wanda Austin, who’s becoming a member of as Al Gore and James Bell retire. Shareholders additionally authorized the corporate’s auditor and government pay.
5 separate unbiased shareholder proposals opposed by Apple had been rejected, together with the AI report.
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