According to a report from Bloomberg, Apple is said to be developing its own AI-powered chatbot, internally referred to as “Apple GPT.” Although the company currently has no concrete plans to release this technology to the public, it has multiple teams working on the project, taking into account potential privacy implications.
The chatbot utilizes its own large language model (LLM) framework called “Ajax,” which runs on Google Cloud and is built with Google Jax, an ML research acceleration framework. Ajax was created by Apple to streamline machine learning development, providing a unified platform for engineers to work on various projects.
While other tech giants like Meta, Microsoft, and Google have already released generative AI products to businesses and the general public, Apple has remained relatively quiet in this space. Despite banning its employees from using ChatGPT, Apple engineers have been utilizing an Ajax-powered chatbot internally.
Apple has a history of incorporating AI into its software, most notably with Siri, the voice assistant that kick-started the trend among tech companies. However, critics have argued that Siri still has significant room for improvement in terms of performance and capabilities.
In a recent interview with Good Morning America, Apple CEO Tim Cook mentioned that AI technology is something the company is closely monitoring, indicating a potential future emphasis on AI development.
In the AI community, different companies have begun partnering to make various LLMs accessible to startups and researchers. For instance, Meta recently announced that its LLM LLaMA 2 will be available on Microsoft’s Azure platform, expanding its accessibility. Microsoft itself utilizes OpenAI’s GPT model on its Bing Search product.
It remains to be seen when Apple will formally introduce its AI-powered chatbot to the public or if it will play catch-up with other tech giants in this generative AI space. However, with its dedicated teams working on the project and the increasing importance of AI in various sectors, it is clear that Apple recognizes the potential value of this technology and is keen on exploring its possibilities.
