Apple Inc. has reportedly halted its electric car project, Project Titan, and is reallocating some of its engineers to focus on artificial intelligence (AI). This move has raised questions about how Apple intends to integrate more AI into its products, and whether the company is developing its own generative AI, akin to ChatGPT.
Recently, Bloomberg revealed that Apple is discontinuing Project Titan, a self-driving electric vehicle initiative that involved significant R&D investments over the past decade. The Wall Street Journal reported that some employees from this project will transition to Apple’s AI endeavors, while those involved in car hardware may face layoffs.
During Apple’s virtual annual meeting on Wednesday, CEO Tim Cook did not address the car project, which the company has never officially confirmed. However, he hinted at potential news later in the year related to generative AI, expressing excitement about breaking new ground in this technological realm.
Contrary to some perceptions on Wall Street, Apple is actively involved in AI development. Reports from last summer indicated that the company is working on its version of ChatGPT, named AppleGPT, and has been constructing its framework, Ajax, for large language models. Additionally, Apple has been testing a generative AI tool called Ask with AppleCare support employees, and it is reportedly developing a rival system to Microsoft’s GitHub Copilot for predicting code blocks using AI.
Although Apple remains tight-lipped about unannounced products, speculation suggests that the company might unveil advancements in AI at its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in June. Despite perceptions of lagging behind in AI compared to Microsoft and Alphabet’s Google, Apple’s historical approach involves observing, waiting, and then perfecting emerging technologies.
Enhancing Siri, Apple’s natural-language digital assistant, is a potential application for the company’s large language models. There have been rumours of a Siri upgrade, and analysts believe that the knowledge gained from Project Titan’s investments in AI will influence and reshape all Apple products moving forward.
While incorporating a chatbot fueled by generative AI onto a mobile device might seem computationally intensive, analysts at Wedbush Securities anticipate the iPhone 16 will integrate generative AI. Whether such an application proves useful to iPhone users and expands the market remains uncertain.
Unlike other tech companies promoting AI on edge devices, Apple, as a privacy-conscious entity, may limit its AI systems to utilizing only customer data stored on their devices. The impact of Apple’s AI efforts is also expected to extend to its new spatial-computing headset, the Vision Pro, and the company’s broader vision for augmented reality (AR) and spatial computing.
Questions arise about Apple’s generative AI system and its potential to outperform existing models like ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini. Given Apple’s focus on user privacy, there is speculation about the company adopting a more ethical approach to AI. As Apple navigates the development of these AI technologies, the outcome may be the ultimate test of Tim Cook’s leadership.