What you need to know
- Apple could potentially explore the generative AI craze.
- A new job listing posted by the company highlights several tasks, roles, and duties that are generative AI-focused.
- The company will reportedly make $1 billion in investments yearly to facilitate its AI advances.
The generative AI craze has completely taken off in the tech industry. Microsoft, in particular, was among the top corporations to embrace the technology, making a multi-billion dollar investment. Other corporations like Slack and Amazon followed suit, incorporating the technology into their services and workflow, but not Apple, which has mysteriously remained quiet in the midst of these developments.
However, the company is now picking up the slack, at least according to its latest job listings. The positions advertised are generative AI-inclined, as reported by TechCrunch. To secure a position in Apple's App Store platform, you must have skills that will allow you to effectively work on a "generative AI-based developer experience platform for internal use."
In another instance, a potential employee in Apple's Retail department is required to leverage a “conversational AI platform (voice and chat)” while interacting with clients. The job listing also outlines “long-form text generation, summarization, question-answering” as part of the job description.
- Is Apple Intelligence 5 years behind Microsoft, even with OpenAI's ChatGPT baked into Siri? "The feature feels like an afterthought" with extremely low real-world usage and dismal iPhone sale conversions
- Veteran PM Kim Vorrath reportedly joins Apple’s new AI division to whip “AI and Siri into shape” — amid claims Apple Intelligence is 2 years behind OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Microsoft's Copilot
Building on this, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, a credible source when it comes to Apple rumors and leaks, recently disclosed that the company will set aside $1 billion annually to further its advances in generative AI as far as its products, features, and services are concerned.
Is it the right time for Apple to explore generative AI?
This isn't the first time generative AI and Apple have been mentioned in the same sentence. In July, our Senior Editor Zac Bowden reported that Apple is venturing into the AI space with a ChatGPT-like iteration, codenamed Ajax, built on Google Jax. It is essentially used internally to help Apple prototype products.
So, it might not be entirely farfetched that Apple is looking into the technology and could eventually hop onto the bandwagon. But if Microsoft's ventures and advances are anything to go by, Apple should consider treading carefully before getting into this technology face-first.
Because the technology is capital-intensive and users have seemingly lost interest, it should be enough for Apple to hit the brakes on AI. Besides, a source with close affiliations to Apple indicated that the company has reservations about venturing into the tech owing to the fact that it's “a pretty big miss internally.” Not forgetting its negative impact on the environment.
Do you think embracing AI is the right move for Apple right now? Please share your thoughts with us in the comments.
