Apple's entry into the world of artificial intelligence is proving more difficult than expected. Apple Intelligence, the tech giant's new artificial intelligence system, has been making negative headlines since its release. At the heart of the criticism is AI's ability, or lack thereof, to summarize information. This affects both the automatic generation of news headlines and the summary of notifications on the lock screen.
For example, Apple Intelligence recently falsely reported that Luigi Mangione, the alleged killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, had shot himself. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was also mistakenly declared under arrest.
These incidents have prompted a response from Reporters Without Borders (RSF), calling for Apple to disable the headline summary feature. RSF argues that AI systems are not yet capable of reliably summarizing complex content, resulting in errors that result in misinformation for users. Furthermore, RSF emphasizes that human oversight is essential when processing complex information and that AI should not be used as a substitute for journalistic diligence.
The BBC, whose headlines were summarized incorrectly by Apple Intelligence, also complained to Apple. Overall, Apple's AI-based summary of notifications on the lock screen and news summary still generate too many errors, raising questions about the availability and responsible use of AI in providing information.
Apple has yet to respond to criticism and calls to disable the feature, so it remains to be seen how the company will address the PR debacle.
