Is Apple Intelligence even possible? manton.org
@manton someone at some point told to higher-level execs that X amount of RAM would be enough in the iPhone 15 Pro or 16 Pro and beyond... if that's no longer the case... some heads might be rolling soon... and Apple might face a massive court battle (because: built for Apple Intelligence).
@manton The better question to ask is "Is Apple Intelligence Necessary?" I would argue that, for a vast majority of everyday users, it's not, in which case, Apple's best move is to abandon it. I am willing to reconsider my position if someone can point to me some data showing that AI is a feature that a substantial majority of Apple iDevice users are requesting.
@apoorplayer "If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” -- Henry Ford
@apoorplayer Users want a better Siri, and I don't think Siri can be substantially better without using some form of LLM. But there is a range of possibilities between "Siri understands me now" and "Siri has AI superpowers".
@drwalt And what, exactly, would have been wrong with that response? Why are we not allowed to say "no" to Henry Ford? Or Sam Altman? Clearly the intent behind Ford's snide answer is that the people were wrong, and he was right. And now we have clogged cities, polluted air, and highway deaths all for the sake of faster transportation. The trouble is we never know what the consequences are of any of these types of decisions until it's far too late and too costly to mediate them. And even today, when we can easily transition to electric/solar power, every oil corporation and every car manufacturer is pushing against that option. No one in positions of wealth or power is saying, "Oops. Guess we should fix that." Bill Gates is done with climate change as the political wind has shifted. I guess I am not as altruistic about the nature of humanity as you are. I agree we need a balance between innovation, creativity, and potential harm and danger; but I focus on the danger because I believe it is not focused on enough when massive corporate profit is part of the equation.
@apoorplayer I agree.
Apple got bit by the GenAI hype. Apple did something that was outside of their playbook - pre-announced something that isn't even close to ready.
They have seen what the initial results of their Apple Intelligence beta has done - following the footsteps of every LLM out there, i.e., bullshitting. The Apple Intelligence news summary was so bad that it is just like "putting glue on pizza". Now imagine this with YOUR PERSONAL DATA -- picking Mom at the airport but gives you the wrong date and time, flight no. and airport BECAUSE that is what LLMs do, bullshit. Apple will NEVER recover from that.
I agree with @manton that there are constraints on device (need more resources, but granting that Apple has researched on how to minimize the models, I guess the models are still too resource intensive) and also on their private cloud compute (they couldn't churn chips fast enough). BOTH are necessary if privacy is to be preserved (something all other GenAI companies are violating).
A slow and careful rollout of features is what Apple do best, and that includes AI-enhanced features. Integrating ChatGPT with Siri could have been the best initial play, and work on the other, more useful features until "it works". Apple users are patient.
@manton "Users want a better Siri." Again I ask (with respect), which users? Techno-enthusiasts, or everyday, non-techie people? Is there any data indicating this? I fear one of the problems with issues like this is the techno-enthusiasts live in a techno-bubble, transferring what THEY want to "what users want."
@apoorplayer Everyday people. I'm thinking of anyone who has been frustrated with Siri not working quite right.
@apoorplayer @manton interacting with something by talking to it is an inherently easier paradigm than typing a message to it. I don't think that's anything unique to tech vs non-tech people.
AI for Good: a.co/d/01aSWQb AI for Social Good: a.co/d/cl8vkQu
(I know what you're going to say: Google and Microsoft. Still.)
@apoorplayer People didn't know they wanted "a thousand songs in your pocket" until Jobs showed them. Everyone thinks they just want more of the same, just better. Was there a "substantial majority " of theatergoers wandering around going, "Damn it, when are we gonna get a rap musical about Alexander Hamilton starring a cast of POCs"?
@manton Apple was never about what people want, but what people need, what adds value to their lives. Therein lies a problem, because it is still unsure what AI is good for. Yes it is capable, but is it any good at it? Only time will tell. Also, if nature has come up with a low-cost, energy-low solution (brains), there surely is room for huge improvements in AI technology, even if it remains at the intelligence level of a simple animal.