Microsoft, OpenAI, and Google have been the biggest players in the AI market so far, specifically generative AI through Bing's ChatGPT integration, ChatGPT itself, and Bard. It looks like Apple is throwing its hat in the ring as well as it tests its own chatbot.
Apple's Own Chatbot
Through all the competition in generative AI chatbots, Apple has been laying low. As one of the biggest tech companies, they were bound to join in on the AI hype, and it looks like the time for that is near. Apple engineers are already calling the chatbot "Apple GPT."
Although, it might be a while before the AI tool rolls out to consumers. It is currently being developed and the company still has no strategy for releasing it just yet. According to Tech Crunch, Apple might make an AI-related announcement as early as next year.
Apple plans to build its own framework which will be called "Ajax." The company will create large language models similar to AI systems such as OpenAI ChatGPT and Google Bard. With that said, Ajax actually runs on Google Cloud and was built using Google JAX.
Right now, only Apple employees are able to use the AI chatbot, which they usually use for product prototyping, summarizing texts, and answering questions using the data that the AI model was trained with, reports say.
In regards to Apple being behind on generative AI technology, it has been delayed due to potential security issues with the technology. Even employees still need special approval to use the AI tool. This checks out given that Apple takes pride in its security capabilities.
Apple is putting more effort into resolving potential privacy issues that could stem from artificial intelligence. Apple CEO Tim Cook himself said that as the company works on its AI products and services, it would be doing so on a "thoughtful basis."
Either way, Apple is still determined to create its own functional chatbot, which shows as the company has already posted job listings for individuals with expert knowledge of it. Apple is looking for engineers with a "robust understanding of large language models and generative AI."
Apple is a Significant Competitor
Apple rarely misses when it comes to introducing new technology into the market. It has a good track record, even in the instances where it bided its time instead of joining the competition along with the other tech giants.
For example, Apple was relatively late in releasing its own AR/VR headset, the Apple Vision Pro, compared to other manufacturers like Meta with the Quest headsets and PlayStation with its PSVR models. Still, Apple managed to capture the praise of those who tried the device.
Even with the company's release of the first iPhone, Apple dominated the market as it introduced the touchscreen smartphone where people won't need to use a stylus. Although touchscreen phones already existed then.
The first iPhone model became a multifunctional tool that exceeded the standard use of a cellphone. It introduced features like a camera, a GPS function, and a music player, as mentioned in Time, which at the time was a game-changer.
