Apple is developing ChatGPt-like products internally to compete with tech giants such as Microsoft, OpenAI, Google
Apple is developing ChatGPt-like products internally to compete with tech giants such as Microsoft, OpenAI, Google, and Meta on the generative AI circuit. Developing AI-related products has become one of Apple’s key tasks in recent months, with several teams collaborating on the project. This recent feat is a signal that Apple is ready to take a big step into the AI battleground.
Apple engineers revealed that Apple built a large language model development framework code-named “Ajax” alongside a generative AI chatbot “Apple GPT. “But a clear strategy for releasing the technology to consumers has not yet been mapped out.
Ajax runs on Google Cloud and is built from Google’s machine learning framework, Google JAX. It was created last year in an effort to integrate Apple’s advances in machine learning.
Apple GPT was temporarily suspended internally due to security concerns and is now only available to a small number of Apple employees
There’s one very important rule for internal Apple users: Nothing the bot generates can be used to develop customer-facing features.
For Apple, the experimental product has at least one benefit: it reduces the risk of confidential information being leaked by employees using other AIGC products.
Apple GPT has technical features such as the ability to summarize text and answer questions based on trained data, and some employees are using it to develop prototypes.
In addition to developing big models and chatbots on its own, Apple is currently trialling OpenAI’s technology.
Apple current AI attempts are being led in a separate way by John Giannandrea, head of machine learning and AI, and Craig Federighi, head of software. However, the two haven’t yet formed a unified position within the company. Giannandrea prefers to take a conservative strategy and look at what the other contenders have been up to lately first.
The recruitment information on Apple’s official website also reveals that the company is more inclined to make AI work in a specific area. In the case of their hiring for AI software engineer position, Apple is looking for an engineering who has a deep understanding of large language models and generative AI. On top of that, candidates should also be committed to applying the technology to the way people communicate on iPhones and other devices.
Tim Cook also defended the company’s AI strategy in May, emphasizing that the technology is already being used across multiple product lines, such as crash detection and fall detection on the Apple Watch. Cook, while acknowledging the “great promise” of large language models, warned of discrimination and misinformation in the technology and called for greater regulation in the field.
