Apple just held quite possibly its biggest WWDC to date, and Apple users are all waiting to get their hands on the new AI tools coming to iOS. However, one billionaire is not happy about this. Elon Musk threatened an Apple ban throughout his companies because of iOS 18’s ChatGPT integration.
Before hopping in, if you want to know more about WWDC 2024, you can check out our coverage. The company announced new goodies coming to iOS 18 along with additions to iPadOS 18. Also, if you want to know how to install the WatchOS 11 beta, we have a guide.
Elon Musk is not happy about Apple’s AI
Soon after Apple brought its AI tools, the internet quickly became flooded with comments about them. Many of them were positive and hopeful, but not everyone was impressed. Elon Musk voiced his anger at the company in a couple of tweets. He was not happy with the company partnering with OpenAI to implement ChatGPT into iOS.
To catch you up, iOS 18’s AI tools are powered by its own models and can also use ChatGPT when needed. Apple AI couldn’t quite develop large-scale models in time, as it was slow to jump on the AI train. So, it needed some help. The phone performs most of its AI on-device, but it will contact GPT-4o when it needs a larger language model.
Well, Musk does not like the fact that the company chose to do this. “Apple has no clue what’s actually going on once they hand your data over to OpenAI.” He’s referring to the fact that OpenAI could have access to users’ data when they need to contact the cloud. It harkens back to the age-old question “What happens to my data when I turn it over to the cloud?”
He also threw more shade at Apple by saying that it’s “patently absurd that Apple isn’t smart enough to make their own AI, yet is somehow capable of ensuring that OpenAI will protect your security & privacy!” Right now, we don’t know just how OpenAI manages data. Obviously, companies like Meta, Google, and Amazon are gluttonous for your data. So, using ANY of their products turns over your entire identity. However, we don’t know how OpenAI is.
What we do know is that the company does have a bit of a history. It’s been involved in a few security breaches. So, Musk has a point there.
Elon Musk could ban Apple products from his companies
In a separate post, Musk said that if Apple implements OpenAI’s models on the OS level, Apple products could be banned from all of his companies. The billionaire owns several companies including X, Tesla, Space X, The Boring Company, etc. So, no one within those companies would be able to use their iPhones.
That could be a bad move on his part, as iPhones are…. kinda popular. We love Android devices, but we have to admit that iPhone users make up a significant portion of any group of people. Also, any company can benefit from having a diverse collection of tech users from both sides of the OS pond. Banning Apple devices could have a negative effect on these businesses.
Elon Musk needs to think about this before making this drastic change. It will have a sweeping effect on the people working at these companies. Many jobs are already at stake because of AI and the poor economic conditions. Workers don’t need any more reason to fear for their jobs.
But, this might just be because of bad blood
As many people may not know, Elon Musk had some deep ties to OpenAI; he was a co-founder. He cut ties with the company years ago, but he has since sparked a squabble with the company. Just a few months ago, Elon moved to sue OpenAI because he feels that its current trajectory clashes with its original vision.
OpenAI was founded on the dream of creating AI for humanity, not profit. However, the company has since moved over to a for-profit model. Not only that but it’s become a bit of an AI powerhouse for Microsoft. Elon feels that OpenAI has become a for-profit subsidiary of Microsoft. He’s suing the company to force it to make its source code public.
During the case, we got some pretty damning evidence pointing to Elon himself wanting to push the company to become a subsidiary of Tesla. Also, an email confirmed that Musk also wanted to keep OpenAI’s source code behind closed doors. So, the messages point to some extreme hypocrisy on Musk’s part.
So, there’s a chance that Elon is making this decision because of his feud with the company. In any case, Musk’s opinions or Apple’s AI aren’t important in this matter. The workers’ jobs are important. Let’s hope that Musk and Apple can come to some sort of agreement that won’t lead to a rapid shake-up. Jobs are already at stake.
The post Elon Musk could ban Apple products from his companies appeared first on Android Headlines.