Monday, April 22, 2024 8:22 am2 Comments

• News

As Apple scrambles to catch-up in generative and other artificial intelligence, the company’s next big thing is an on-device large language model (LLM).

Mark Gurman for Bloomberg News:
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Apple’s next big thing: an on-device large language model… This is an area where Apple is chasing companies like OpenAI and Alphabet Inc.’s Google, and its initial AI features probably won’t be superior to those of its rivals. But the way it implements the technology could still be a game changer.

Apple has been developing a large language model — the algorithm that underpins generative AI features — and all indications suggest that it will be entirely on-device. That means the technology is powered by the processor inside the iPhone, rather than in the cloud. The upshot: Apple’s AI tools may be a bit less powerful and knowledgeable in some cases (the company could fill in the gaps by teaming up with Google and other AI providers), but the approach will make response times far quicker. And it will be easier for Apple to maintain privacy.

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MacDailyNews Take: As we wrote on April 1st:

Apple was caught flat-footed, due to a lack of vision on the part of leadership. They were, uh, focused elsewhere. Apple’s traditional data center network is not fit for generative AI. It will take years and billions of dollars to catch up just to where GenAI leaders (OpenAI, Microsoft, Alphabet, etc.) are today.

So, the only solution is to partner with a Google for the real GenAI stuff while pretending (marketing) really hard that some on-device AI Apple has whipped up in a few months is “insanely great Apple innovation” that’s at the heart of Apple’s 2024’s AI announcements when it’s really just an adjunct. Apple will tout their homegrown on-device AI and act like it’s powering everything when, in reality, it’s Google (or whichever is licensed) that’s powering most of it. Watch Apple make a big show of its on-device AI at WWDC and run many ads touting it from June onwards.

Apple hopes to buy time for the data center buildouts and investments that will be required for them to someday own their own AI technology and not have to license it from the likes of Google.

This is what happens after a decade plus with a caretaker CEO at the helm after he hits the last page of his iteration playbook, yet attempts to stay in the game for too long.

See also:
• Work on Apple Vision Pro began under Steve Jobs – August 23, 2023
• Contrary to popular belief, Steve Jobs knew about Apple Watch – February 13, 2023

Hopefully, the mad scramble to catch up after the deer-in-the-headlights standing start will produce enough to not only assuage Apple investors, but also mightily tempt consumers. – MacDailyNews, March 26, 2024
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