Apple Working on AI Project “Apple GPT” to Compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT

Mark Gurman of Bloomberg claims that Apple is hard at work developing artificial intelligence projects under the codename “Apple GPT” that could compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT. As a result of the proliferation of chatbot services and AI features within apps, work on artificial intelligence has become a priority for Apple over the course of the previous few months.

Apple’s “Ajax” Foundation for Language Models

The startup in Cupertino, California, has developed an “Ajax” foundation for huge language models such as ChatGPT, Microsoft’s Bing, and Google’s Bard. It has developed its internal chatbot, which some engineers call “Apple GPT,” a pun on ChatGPT. Gurman claims that Apple does not yet have a “clear strategy” for developing a product for end-users of the company’s services.

Apple’s Concerns and Unique Access

Apple is concerned that it is falling behind other companies in developing AI-based technologies that will alter how consumers interact with iPhones because of the growing popularity of AI chatbots. Employees of Apple are required to have unique access to the chatbot app that the company is currently developing, and the app’s output cannot be utilized to develop new product features for consumers. It can provide answers to queries depending on the data that Apple used to train it, and it is currently being utilized for product prototyping.

Apple’s Exploration of OpenAI and Privacy Focus

The Ajax platform is constructed using Google’s Jax machine learning framework and hosted on Google Cloud. It has been stated that Apple explored signing a deal with OpenAI and tested the company’s technology with its corporate teams; however, Apple ultimately decided against doing either.

Apple has multiple teams working on artificial intelligence and aiming to solve issues such as concerns over users’ privacy. Apple has always been more cautious than its competitors; its goal has always been to put privacy ahead of functionality. This has been the case even with their assistant, Siri. Apple has received criticism for its virtual assistant Siri’s inadequacies compared to technologies offered by competitors such as Google, Microsoft, Samsung, Amazon, and others.

Tim Cook’s Perspective on AI

During Apple’s earnings call in May, Tim Cook stated that there are a “number of issues that need to be sorted” with AI and that it is essential to be “deliberate and thoughtful” in the approach to its development. Cook was referring to the challenges that are associated with AI. Cook also stated that Apple thinks artificial intelligence is “huge” and intends to “continue weaving it in products on a very thoughtful basis.”

Apple’s Future Plans and Challenges

There has yet to be any indication of whether Apple plans to introduce a chatbot geared toward the general public. Despite this, the company strives to enhance product features based on machine learning with each new software iteration. For example, predictive text functionality has been improved in iOS 17, and Apple has incorporated new capabilities, including Visual Lookup and photo identification.

Apple may aim to make a “significant” announcement related to AI in 2024. Still, at this time, the company has no firm plans. The man in charge of artificial intelligence at Apple is named John Giannandrea, and the man in charge of software engineering is named Craig Federighi. However, just like with Apple’s other new technologies, there are issues with product development that the corporation will need to work through to move forward.