Apple’s New AI Power💪 Move
Photo by Sumudu Mohottige on Unsplash
We’ve all seen Apple dip their toes into AI (Artificial Intelligence) with the release of AI (Apple Intelligence).
That’s confusing enough for the average reader of a software development tech blog, but there is something that makes even less sense.
The partnership to integrate OpenAI’s ChatGPT into iPhones is on another level. Financial details might be that corporate ideal — confidential — but what we know is this isn’t an average deal. Reportedly no money has changed hands, telling us much about the strategic maneuvering of tech companies and something about the impact on the software development community.
Apple What? Why is it a Big Deal?
I know one developer who is so engaged with this stuff that they saw the recent WWDC announcements and immediately went out to buy a new “Apple Intelligence” compatible Mac.
Looking at Apple’s share price they’re probably not alone — developers and the general public are into this AI (Artificial Intelligence) revolution and are clearly putting their money where their mouth is.
The fact that AI (Artificial Intelligence) leaders OpenAI have signed a deal with Apple sweetens the deal. This stuff matters (for right or for wrong) to Apple users, whether they are developers or not.
The Partnership: What’s the Deal?
Apple and OpenAI are integrating ChatGPT, OpenAI’s conversational AI, into Apple’s ecosystem, enhancing Siri and introducing new writing tools.
The fascinating part is that while users will not be charged to use ChatGPT, neither will Apple.
As ever, we need to think a little deeper and question where these mega-corporations (and the developers working for them) will get the money to keep the lights on in their server rooms.
The answer is that OpenAI believe the exposure of getting ChatGPT onto hundreds of millions of Apple devices (and potentially selling them an upgrade to their paid tier) is a fair trade for the integration.
The Cost of Free
They say there is no such thing as a free lunch.
As usual, the corporations are each getting a slice of the consumer’s money without making it obvious that payment has to come from somewhere.
The obvious plan is to convert free users to paid accounts with premium features starting at $20 a month. Any subscriptions made through Apple devices will give Apple a cut, sweetening the deal for both parties.
Another is giving data to either OpenAI or Apple. Apple have come up short against their privacy ideal, and OpenAI will take all the data you can give it unless you mark one difficult to find setting to “Off”.
A rare screenshot of The Secret Developer’s machine
A rare screenshot of The Secret Developer’s machine
As someone with experience working with users let me tell you: many people will forget to protect their data.
This is a case of a corporate partnership exploiting users and lacking transparency about what they are doing. How many people outside of the tech/business community are finding articles about the funding model for AI (Apple Intelligence) — or even understanding the difference between AI (Artificial Intelligence) and AI (Apple Intelligence)?
It becomes a massive deal is software developers inadvertently share their code with OpenAI and they take your work without compensation. Musk has already complained about this, so it might be your time to complain too?
Not an Exclusive Club
Apple isn’t stopping at OpenAI.
Talks are reportedly underway to bring Google’s Gemini chatbot into the fold, and discussions with Anthropic are also in the pipeline.
While Apple might have the goal to provide a variety of AI services, it seems they really want to secure more revenue-sharing agreements, positioning Apple to profit from the growing AI market without adding anything of worth to it.
Insert you own joke here about the technology Apple have stolen and monetized without making the actual technology better.
The Strategic Picture
In the end, Apple and OpenAI are setting a precedent for how tech giants can collaborate for mutual growth, creating a win-win scenario where exposure and innovation are the ultimate currencies.
The problem is the whole deal is rather opaque and leaves users confused about where the money is coming from or going.
Even software developers seem to be sleeping on the implications of leaking their data to OpenAI. I’ve a colleague who uses ChatGPT at work (personal free login) and copy-pastes production code into the window to ask questions about their code. Yes, I’ve told them. No, I won’t report to management (seriously). No, they aren’t a great developer.
Conclusion
Look after your data Apple users. Might be worth making a fuss like Windows users did about Microsoft’s failed Recall AI software.
The danger of AI (Artificial Intelligence) is that we are all too willing to give away our data and work for nothing. It’s not too late to stop an AI (Artificial Intelligence) apocalypse where our jobs and soul are sucked into the machine, but it seems that people are making all the mistakes to enable that dystopian future.
At least us software devs can be more intelligent, right?