In a recent and rare all - hands meeting that lasted approximately an hour, Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, made a strong statement to the company's tens of thousands of employees, emphasizing that Apple "must" succeed in the realm of artificial intelligence. This was disclosed by sources familiar with the matter, as reported by Platformer's Zoë Schiffer.
Cook is said to have drawn parallels from Apple's past, noting that the company has often entered markets where it wasn't the first - mover. "We're rarely first. There were PCs before the Mac, smartphones before the iPhone, tablets before the iPad," he stated. "But we've redefined the modern standard. AI is too important to our users and to the world for us not to be a leader in this field. We must win here, and we will." He further elaborated that the impact of AI is expected to be even more far - reaching than that of the smartphone or the internet.
This meeting comes at a crucial time for Apple, as the company has faced criticism for its seemingly slow progress in AI compared to some of its competitors. Although Apple has been using machine learning in various products for a long time, like in Siri and Photos, it has yet to make a significant mark in the generative AI space, which has been dominated by the likes of ChatGPT and DALL - E.
In an effort to catch up, Apple has been taking several steps. In April, the company brought on John Giannandrea, a former Google AI executive, to lead its machine learning and AI initiatives. And in May, Apple announced that it would be leveraging AI to enhance the performance of its upcoming Vision Pro mixed - reality headset.
According to sources, Cook also informed employees that Apple is exploring acquisitions and deep partnerships in the AI space. The company has reportedly evaluated potential deals with AI startups such as Perplexity and Mistral. Additionally, Apple is maintaining technical discussions with OpenAI and Anthropic, with the aim of expediting the implementation of AI features.
Another significant aspect of Apple's AI strategy is the overhaul of Siri. The original hybrid architecture for Siri's improvement did not meet the company's quality standards and has been scrapped. Now, the project has been handed over to Mike Rockwell's team, which is also responsible for Vision Pro. They are tasked with designing an end - to - end large - language - model architecture for Siri. Apple anticipates a "substantial" upgrade to Siri, which is slated for release in 2025.
Furthermore, Apple is making significant strides in its AI infrastructure. The company is doubling the size of the AI accelerators in its next - generation Apple Silicon chips. These chips will serve as the central engines for all of Apple's devices, enabling more powerful on - device AI processing. This move aligns with Apple's long - standing focus on user privacy, as on - device AI processing can reduce the need to send user data to the cloud for processing.
Apple's push in AI is not only about catching up with competitors but also about redefining the user experience across its product line. From enhancing the capabilities of its virtual assistant to improving features like camera quality, battery life, and security on its devices through AI, Apple aims to set a new standard in the industry. As Cook emphasized, Apple's approach to AI is centered around using the technology to make its existing products more intuitive, personalized, and helpful to users. The company's substantial investment in AI, both in terms of research, infrastructure, and product development, signals its determination to be at the forefront of the AI revolution.