Intelligent machines - Apple: Outdated iPhones Inadequate for Advanced AI Capabilities
Apple has defended its decision to exclude a number of iPhone users from accessing its newest AI features, which it has attributed to technical reasons. AI head John Giannandrea spoke about this in an interview on "The Talk Show" podcast (time zone). To fully support the software, devices must have sufficient power. While the AI models could theoretically operate on older technology, they would be slow and thus not very useful.
Apple's new AI initiatives, dubbed "Apple Intelligence," require either one of the upcoming iPhones or, at the very least, an iPhone 15 Pro from the fall of last year. When it comes to Mac computers, however, more flexibility is available: Any in-house M-series chips employed by Apple since 2020 will suffice. Apple's M-chip-powered iPads are also compatible with AI functions. To further elaborate, software chief Craig Federighi added that both chipsets and RAM storage capacity are significant factors.
Apple prefers to carry out as much processing as possible on the devices themselves, primarily for confidentiality reasons. This puts greater pressure on their capabilities. However, the company has also developed a system to encrypt and send tasks to its servers. The data is then deleted completely from the cloud. "We don't utilize user data to train our models," Giannandrea stressed.
The imminent features will include functions like summarizing missed emails and messages, creating individual emoji symbols, and finding and assembling information as requested. Additionally, the software will be able to generate images based on text descriptions. Unlike many other AI-driven services, though, Apple's AI will not create artificial photographs. "We do not wish to make it easy to create deepfakes," Giannandrea said. Deepfakes are problematic because it's becoming increasingly easy to generate realistic-looking images - and even videos - of people.
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- Despite the controversy, Apple's AI head John Giannandrea emphasized that the latest AI features won't be available on older iPhones in the USA due to their insufficient power for fast performance.
- During the interview, Giannandrea also mentioned that the upcoming Mac computers with Apple's M-series chips, which were introduced in 2020, will have no issues with the new AI features, ensuring a smooth user experience.
- Moreover, Apple's decision to focus on in-device processing, especially for confidentiality reasons, puts pressure on the chips' performance to deliver the promised AI features, such as summarizing missed emails and creating personalized emojis.
- In the field of artificial intelligence, Apple is also working on generating images based on text descriptions to improve user experiences, ensuring that their AI services remain privacy-focused and do not contribute to the proliferation of deepfakes in the USA or worldwide.
- In an effort to maintain transparency and avoid misuse, Apple emphasized that its AI services won't create artificial photographs, making it less tempting for individuals to produce deepfakes, which have become a growing concern on the internet globally.
