Apple and Google: perhaps the fastest pursuers

Rarely has there been a technology that all the major tech companies have jumped on as quickly as AI: Microsoft OpenAI is funding and thus ChatGPT, Google wants to improve its search with the Gemini AI model, Meta has published its Llama model as open source, retailers on Amazon are supposed to build their product pages using AI, and chipmaker Nvidia is earning gold medal profits with every… This noise.

Are you missing a company from this list? correct, apple. Little has been heard about AI from Cupertino so far.

But in the last few days something has leaked: just as it did at the beginning Bloomberg Apple is said to be in talks with Google to license Google Gemini's AI and integrate it into future iPhone software, reported Apple. Yes, Google, which itself produces smartphones equipped with artificial intelligence technology, and is even a direct competitor to Apple with its Android operating system.

If the reports are correct, the most obvious reading would be: The company from Cupertino, long considered an engine of technological innovation and long held the title of the world's most valuable company, is abandoning the race for the world's greatest innovations. the moment. Good night, Apple.

It's not that simple. On the contrary: the agreement with Google may be the smartest thing Apple can do.

We can do artificial intelligence too. And at least as good as Microsoft

Apple famously doesn't like it artificial intelligence He says (just as virtual reality doesn't like to say that). While Google CEO Sundar Pichai introduced AI almost en masse at his developer conference last year (or at least… With potential meme) mentioned, three weeks later, Apple CEO Tim Cook did not say the word at the Apple Developers Conference. Apple likes to talk about “machine learning” — not necessarily to differentiate itself, but simply to sound like company speak. This probably goes back to the pre-ChatGPT era, when the technology landscape tried to do more than it currently does to linguistically differentiate between different forms of AI.

Because Apple has been relying on AI for some time: since its introduction in 2017
iPhone 8 and iPhone Neural drive. Since Apple developed the chips for the Mac itself, they have been installed there too, that is, since 2020. Devices use this engine for video editing or when taking photos to make the sky bluer and people's skin more vibrant. This is the main reason why iPhone photos look better than reality.

Apple has been using AI for a long time, but not in the spotlight. But that's what's happened since the release ChatGPT In the fall of 2022, many customers (and perhaps more investors) will expect: Text and image generators consisting of short clips urgeThat is, he is asked to write poems, draw works of art, or compose songs.

This expectation has become a problem for the company: Since 2011, Apple has been the most valuable company in the world for most of the time, only temporarily surpassed by Microsoft and Alphabet, Google's parent company. Microsoft has been back in first place since the start of 2024 – and the main reason for this is likely to be the group's commitment to generative AI. Microsoft has invested billions in the company behind ChatGPT, OpenAI, to secure the ability to integrate the technology into Windows and its Office suite. Microsoft is only just starting to make real money with it, but the economic potential of AI alone increases the company's value.

Although Apple often tries to become independent of trends, the Cupertino company cannot ignore the AI ​​trend. This was evident at the company's annual investor meeting at the end of February: Tim Cook promised his investors that Apple would achieve new heights in the field of generative artificial intelligence this year – this time he did not talk about machine learning. This may be the clearest announcement yet from the top-secret company that it is planning major commitments in the field of artificial intelligence. Another sign: Since last year, Apple has been increasingly looking for employees with experience in generative AI, and it is claimed that former employees of the electric car project, which was reportedly discontinued, will also work on AI in the future.

The new trend can be seen in the announcement of the new MacBook Air with the M3 chip: Apple wrote that the MacBook Air “remains the world's best consumer laptop for AI.” During press demos of the device, Apple showed off the AI ​​functionality of graphics software Blender, Copilot functionality for Powerpoint (from Microsoft!) and the FreeChat app, which ran a chatbot powered by Meta's Llama model without a cloud connection on the device itself. He answered almost in real time.

The message: We can do AI too. And at least as good as Microsoft.