Apple will reveal plans to generate AI later this year, CEO Tim Cook says

Apple plans to reveal more about its plans to use generative artificial intelligence later this year, Chief Executive Tim Cook said during the company’s annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday.

Cook said the iPhone maker sees “incredible breakthrough potential for generative AI, which is why we’re currently investing heavily in this area. We believe it will unlock transformative opportunities for users when it comes to productivity, problem solving and more.” “

Apple has been slower to roll out generative AI that can generate human responses to text prompts than rivals such as Microsoft and Alphabet’s Google, which weave them into products.

On Wednesday, Cook claimed that AI was already working behind the scenes in Apple products, but said there would be more news about explicit AI features later this year. Bloomberg previously reported that Apple plans to use AI to improve the searchability of data stored on Apple devices.

“Every Mac powered by Apple silicon is a highly capable AI machine. There really isn’t a better computer for AI on the market today,” Cook said.

Apple shareholders on Wednesday rejected a measure that would have required the company to disclose more information about how it uses artificial intelligence in its business and its ethical guidelines for the technology.

The proposal, which failed to pass but won 37.5 percent of the votes cast, was put forward by the AFL-CIO Pension Trust, America’s largest union federation, which has also proposed AI measures at other technology companies.

“Compared to other leading technology companies, Apple has lagged behind in disclosing ethical guidelines regarding the use of artificial intelligence,” Brandon Rees, deputy director of corporations and capital markets at the AFL-CIO, said in a statement. “We hope that Apple will improve its disclosure practices on this important matter to investors and other interested parties.”

A similar proposal will be heard at Walt Disney’s annual meeting in April.

At Apple, the AFL-CIO requested a report on the company’s use of AI “in its business operations and disclosure of any ethical guidelines the company has adopted regarding the company’s use of AI technology.”

In its supporting statement in Apple’s proxy materials, the AFL-CIO wrote that “artificial intelligence systems should not be trained on copyrighted works, or the voices, likenesses, and performances of professional performers, without transparency, consent, and compensation for creators and rights holders.”

Apple opposed the move, saying the revelations could upend the strategy as it competes with rivals in the fast-growing field of AI.

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