Apple has recently shown a renewed commitment to incorporating generative artificial intelligence (AI) into its products. The company has posted various job listings indicating the need for generative AI technology in both internal and external applications. The move comes after Apple announced the introduction of a “Transformer” model-based autocorrect feature in iOS 17 earlier this year.
Key Takeaway
Apple is making a significant effort to incorporate generative AI technology across its products and services. Recent job listings suggest the company’s commitment to developing AI-powered features in areas such as app development, customer engagement, and text generation. With a substantial investment and a focus on large language models, Apple aims to enhance user experiences and provide innovative AI functionalities in future iterations of its operating systems and applications.
Expanding AI Capabilities
According to the job listings, Apple is actively seeking talent to work on a range of AI projects. For instance, one listing focuses on developing a generative AI-based platform for internal use, aimed at enhancing the developer experience on the App Store. Another listing mentions the creation of a conversational AI platform for engaging with customers in Apple Retail.
The company is also interested in improving text-generation technology, including long-form text generation, summarization, and question-answering. Additionally, Apple is exploring the development of fundamental models and aims to create a human-like conversational agent.
Specific Focus Areas
The job openings in AI/ML point to various departments and units within Apple that are actively involved in AI development, such as Siri Information Intelligence. The company is particularly interested in working with individuals who can optimize models to run locally on devices.
Significant Investment
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple plans to invest more than $1 billion per year to advance generative AI-based products and features. The report states that Apple views the absence of such products as a missed opportunity. The company aims to leverage large language models (LLMs) to enhance Siri’s capabilities and provide features like sentence completion on the next version of iOS.
Apple’s exploration of generative AI extends beyond Siri, with potential applications in apps and services like Xcode, Apple Music playlists, and AI-assisted writing for Pages and Keynote.
Competition and Futuristic Goals
While Apple is still in the development stage, competitors such as Microsoft, Google, and Meta have already integrated AI-powered features into their hardware and software offerings. Reports have suggested that Apple is also developing its own “Apple GPT,” but the company has yet to release any consumer-facing products in this domain.
