Bloomberg reported yesterday that Apple has been working on its own AI-powered chatbot, internally known as “Apple GPT.” While the company hasn’t revealed concrete plans for public release, its engineers have reportedly been actively using the chatbot, which uses a large language model (LLM) framework named “Ajax.” Running on Google Cloud and built with Google JAX, Ajax serves to unify machine learning development.
Unlike its tech counterparts such as Meta, Microsoft, and Google, who have been actively pushing out generative AI products to businesses and the general public, Apple has maintained a quieter stance in this sector.
Apple has previously integrated AI into its software, with Siri being the most prominent example. However, Siri faced criticism for its shortcomings, which led Apple to seek AI expertise; in 2018, the company hired John Giannandrea, former head of AI and search at Google, to oversee Siri and its machine learning teams. Apple’s AI initiative is now led by Giannandrea and Craig Federighi, its senior vice president of software engineering.
Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive officer (CEO), emphasized the company’s close examination of AI tech during a recent interview with Good Morning America. He also acknowledged the existence of various challenges that require careful resolution before widespread deployment.
Apple’s plans for the AI space are still vague. However, the Bloomberg report hinted at the possibility of a significant AI-related announcement from Apple in the coming year.