"Apple Has Already Put Its Chatbot to Work Internally"

In a recent report, it was revealed that Apple has been employing an in-house chatbot to aid its staff in prototyping forthcoming features, condensing text, and responding to inquiries based on the data it has been trained on.

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While Apple's exact plan for deploying its Apple GPT chatbot to interact with consumers is yet to be determined, Gurman's article offers a sneak peek into the ways the tech giant has been making use of this technology internally. According to the report, Apple is exploring opportunities to broaden the use of generative AI within its corporate structure, including potentially equipping its AppleCare support team with the tool to enhance customer assistance.

However, don't expect this to be a rapid rollout. Apple, along with its CEO Tim Cook, is well aware of the hiccups that chatbots can encounter. During an earnings call in May, Cook acknowledged that there are "several kinks that need ironing out" in relation to AI. As Gurman points out, Apple's approach to AI advancement is likely to be more measured than the likes of Google, Microsoft, and others who seem to be in a race to incorporate generative AI into their products. Despite this, it was reported by Bloomberg last week that Apple insiders hinted at a "major AI-centric announcement" in the pipeline for next year.

Apple's cautious approach is understandable. With instances of chatbot "hallucinations" producing incorrect information and the potential risk of information leaks, companies including Apple and Samsung have reportedly warned their employees against using chatbots. One extreme example of chatbot malfunction was when a lawyer utilized ChatGPT to draft a brief that ended up being populated with entirely fictitious cases.

Despite these hurdles, Apple can't afford to ignore the advancements being made in the AI sector by competitors. Meta recently announced that Microsoft's Azure platform will implement Meta’s quasi-open-source LLM LLaMA 2. Meanwhile, Samsung is persistently exploring ways to integrate AI into its devices. Even though Apple has managed to steer clear of the AI hype so far, its constant incorporation of machine learning features into its products and the hiring of John Giannandrea, former head of Google AI, in 2018 to lead Apple's machine learning initiatives, demonstrate its commitment to venturing into the unpredictable realm of generative AI, albeit quietly.