Apple CEO Tim Cook on Generative AI: 'We're Investing Quite a Bit'

During today's earnings call covering the fourth fiscal quarter of 2023, Apple executives held a Q&A session with analysts and investors. Apple CEO Tim Cook was questioned about how Apple might be able to monetize generative AI, which he of course declined to comment on, but he said that Apple is "investing quite a bit" in AI and that there are going to be product advancements that involve generative AI.

hey siri banner apple

If you zoom out and look at what we've done with AI and machine learning and how we've used it, these are fundamental technology integral to every product we ship.

When we shipped iOS 17, it included features like Personal Voice and Live Voicemail. AI is at the heart of these features. You can go all the way to the life-saving features on the watch and phone, like Fall Detection, Crash Detection, and ECG on the watch. These would not be possible without AI. We don't label them as such, because we labeled them as to what their consumer benefit is, but the fundamental tech behind it is AI and machine learning.

In terms of generative AI, we obviously have work going on. I'm not going to get into detail about it because we really don't do that, but you can bet we're investing. We're investing quite a bit. We're going to do it responsibly. You will see product advancements over time where those technologies are at the heart of it.

Cook said that Apple is planning to be "responsible" when it delves into generative AI technology, and he suggested that features will roll out over time. Current rumors suggest that Apple's is planning some major AI updates for 2024, some of which could use generative AI.

Reports suggest that Apple is spending billions on generative AI research and product development.

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Vertical Camera Feature

iPhone SE 4 Rumored to Use Same Rear Chassis as iPhone 16

Friday July 19, 2024 7:16 am PDT by
Apple will adopt the same rear chassis manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 that it is using for the upcoming standard iPhone 16, claims a new rumor coming out of China. According to the Weibo-based leaker "Fixed Focus Digital," the backplate manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 is "exactly the same" as the standard model in Apple's upcoming iPhone 16 lineup, which is expected to...
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Just Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Monday July 15, 2024 4:44 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
iphone 14 lineup

Cellebrite Unable to Unlock iPhones on iOS 17.4 or Later, Leak Reveals

Thursday July 18, 2024 4:18 am PDT by
Israel-based mobile forensics company Cellebrite is unable to unlock iPhones running iOS 17.4 or later, according to leaked documents verified by 404 Media. The documents provide a rare glimpse into the capabilities of the company's mobile forensics tools and highlight the ongoing security improvements in Apple's latest devices. The leaked "Cellebrite iOS Support Matrix" obtained by 404 Media...
tinypod apple watch

TinyPod Turns Your Apple Watch Into an iPod

Wednesday July 17, 2024 3:18 pm PDT by
If you have an old Apple Watch and you're not sure what to do with it, a new product called TinyPod might be the answer. Priced at $79, the TinyPod is a silicone case with a built-in scroll wheel that houses the Apple Watch chassis. When an Apple Watch is placed inside the TinyPod, the click wheel on the case is able to be used to scroll through the Apple Watch interface. The feature works...
bsod

Crowdstrike Says Global IT Outage Impacting Windows PCs, But Mac and Linux Hosts Not Affected

Friday July 19, 2024 3:12 am PDT by
A widespread system failure is currently affecting numerous Windows devices globally, causing critical boot failures across various industries, including banks, rail networks, airlines, retailers, broadcasters, healthcare, and many more sectors. The issue, manifesting as a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), is preventing computers from starting up properly and forcing them into continuous recovery...
New MacBook Pros Launching Tomorrow With These 4 New Features 2

M5 MacBook Models to Use New Compact Camera Module in 2025

Wednesday July 17, 2024 2:58 am PDT by
Apple in 2025 will take on a new compact camera module (CCM) supplier for future MacBook models powered by its next-generation M5 chip, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Writing in his latest investor note on unny-opticals-2025-business-momentum-to-benefit-509819818c2a">Medium, Kuo said Apple will turn to Sunny Optical for the CCM in its M5 MacBooks. The Chinese optical lens company...

Top Rated Comments

boss.king Avatar
9 months ago
Can't wait for Siri to start lying to me instead of just failing to perform basic tasks.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
coffeemilktea Avatar
9 months ago
Does this mean Siri might actually become genuinely good again? I can only hope. ?
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
antiprotest Avatar
9 months ago
Adding hallucinative AI to stupid Siri is ground zero for Skynet.

"Siri, set an alarm for 7am."

"Missile launch countdown initiated..."
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MrTemple Avatar
9 months ago

Generative AI is a fad
I love that you live in a world where this isn't an absurdly, paint-eatingly wrong take.

Honestly I'd love to live in that world too.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Joe Dohn Avatar
9 months ago

Generative AI is a fad and Apple better start looking for opportunity somewhere else
It's nowhere near a fad. Generative AI is incredibly useful for content generation (images and written content), programming, and many other applications.

Remember that GPT is a LANGUAGE model, so it particularly excels at language-related tasks. For example, it absolutely shines if you use it to improve the flow of badly written text.

Of course, you have to KNOW what to ask. But if you do, it's pure gold.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
djphat2000 Avatar
9 months ago
I love this answer Cook gave. Putting the AI to use in specific tasks, and all on chip.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)