Microsoft, Google, Meta, IBM, Amazon, and countless other major tech giants have been straining in the neck-and-neck A.I. race to seem dominant.
But one company, perhaps the biggest name of all, is conspicuously absent from the public track meet. Of course, we could only be talking about Apple.
Surely the largest tech company in the world is not resting on its laurels, firm in some questionable conviction that Siri is the peak of A.I. and will remain so no matter how many newfangled ChatGPTs and Geminis (that is, the A.I. model that is now a part of Google’s Bard) enter the market.
Nay, we speculate that Apple is hard at work crafting a next-generation A.I. chatbot that could very well blow the rest out of the water. Are we fated to see the release of Siri, the Sequel, in 2024?
If not then, then likely sometime in the coming years.
But do our speculations truly rest on a solid foundation? Well, read on below about some major multimillion-dollar moves that Apple has recently been making that speak to ambitions surrounding artificial intelligence.
Apple Has Entered the Chat(bot)
If you are wondering how exactly the cookie will crumble for tech startups and giants alike looking to train A.I. systems on copyrighted material, maybe take a look at how the tech titan Apple is approaching this issue.
Apple has decided to play it safe by opening up negotiations with many news publishers about the possibility of multiyear deals worth, reportedly, up to tens of millions of dollars. The goal here is to get (=purchase) permission from those holders of precious copyrighted content to use said content in training Apple’s A.I. systems.
Think of this as like a preemptive investment meant to ward off any fiscally harmful litigious behavior on behalf of those same copyright holders.
What this means for the tech industry is that if the myriad of lawsuits concerning possible copyright infringement falls in the favor of copyright holders such as news publishers, then tech companies are going to need to pony up for the privilege of training A.I. systems on copyrighted materials.
Luckily for Apple, it can certainly afford to pay to play the A.I. game.
Deep Pockets Purchase Better Product Development Solutions
The above title likely begets an “of course” from most readers, as the concept is pretty simple. If you have ample resources on hand to develop a better product than your competitors’ offerings, then you will likely enjoy greater market share.
At least, so long as you market the product correctly. Obscurity often keeps quality products out of the hands of consumers. Publicity stunts like OpenAI’s release of ChatGPT for free to the world is one such example of how marketing and innovation are closely intertwined in the tech world.
Some analysts may say that Apple is simply using some of its very ample available cash to more or less purchase good standing with publishers, a calculated move to avoid any lawsuits that will be costly because, well, legal proceedings tend to rack up the bills.
So if courts ultimately end up siding more with copyright holders than tech companies, Apple will likely end up saving more money in the long run by choosing to pay for the privilege of using copyrighted material in training, instead of just weathering the legal costs.
Even if legislators favor companies in infringement battles, Apple may still come out on top, as good publicity plays a significant role, as mentioned. Consumers who care about the infringement cases will likely side with Apple, which chooses to pay for the right to train their A.I. on certain materials. Publicity matters.
Apple’s Approach to A.I. Is Not Out of Character
The structure of this A.I. strategy has always been the M.O. for Apple.
Apple likes to hang around in the shadowed wings of the stage while its competitors strive in the harsh spotlight of the product market, strainingly presenting one product after the next like show tunes in a revue in the hopes of garnering applause in the form of sales.
All the while, Apple carefully considers how to enhance what it presents in the spotlight. When it emerges at last with its innovative product, Apple is like a performer that walks out with just the right amount of charisma that brings the audience to the economic equivalent of a standing ovation.
Example: The iPhone was not the first cell phone. It is just a kind of cellphone. But it was such a new-and-improved take on the cell phone that it did not feel like an upgrade to an existing kind of product, but an entirely new product of its own. Hence, the product category “smartphone” emerged.
In the same way, Apple will most likely emerge with an A.I. product that will be a major player in the A.I. market, thanks to the company’s available resources.
Though some media reports see Apple as playing catch-up, it may very well be the case that the company is well-equipped to jump into the race at any time.
It may be that Apple wants to keep a tight lid on A.I. development, as evidenced by its rejected bid to not have its shareholders vote on the company’s A.I. policies.
But we will have to wait and see just what Apple has cooking for A.I.
