Apple and OpenAI partnership set to revolutionize Siri capabilities
The Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 2024 (WWDC 2024) is due to commence in less than two weeks. According to insider information from The Information, Apple is expected to announce a partnership with OpenAI. The AI technology developer’s expertise will reportedly be used to enhance the functionality of Apple’s voice assistant, Siri, and possibly transform it into an AI chatbot.
Long-term discussions to use GPT technology in iOS 18
Previously, there were speculations that Apple was in talks with OpenAI to incorporate the GPT technology in iOS 18. As per The Information, these negotiations have been underway for nearly a year. Members of Apple’s machine learning team reportedly met with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and other company representatives at the 2023 WWDC conference. Though the specifics of the discussion remain undisclosed, the two parties eventually agreed to grant Apple employees access to OpenAI’s API for internal testing.
The transformative effect of pivotal API testing
Reports from The Information suggest that during these tests, Apple engineers integrated ChatGPT with Siri, demonstrating Siri’s new ability to handle more complex user commands due to an improved understanding of context. Moreover, 9to5Mac claims to have found evidence in the iOS 17.4 code of Apple using APIs that could potentially enable Siri to perform real-time translation.
Microsoft’s apprehensiveness about the partnership
The Information sources also indicate that Microsoft is apprehensive about the partnership between Apple and OpenAI. Currently, Microsoft has a standing agreement with OpenAI which provides AI technologies that underpin Copilot, while Microsoft supplies data centers to support ChatGPT in return.
High-level meetings and offers to alleviate concerns
The Information asserts that Altman recently had a meeting to discuss these concerns with Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella. Amid concerns about meeting server demands when Apple launches new features for iPhone and iPad users, Microsoft has proposed that OpenAI cuts its future profits as compensation for Microsoft’s previous startup investment of $13 billion.
