XPost: alt.security.espionage, talk.politics.guns, alt.society.liberalism XPost: talk.politics.misc
Chinese media is reporting that Apple is buying AI services from local
tech giant Baidu. The WSJ had earlier reported that the iPhone maker had
been in discussions with the company, to use its AI smarts in iOS 18.
Baudi operates a ChatGPT-style LLM known as ERNIE Bot, which claims to “comprehend human intentions and deliver accurate, logical, and fluent responses approaching human level” …
Apple’s generative AI push this year
There’s now incontrovertible evidence that Apple is making a major push
into generative AI services with this year’s iOS and macOS updates.
Things kicked off in October of last year, when Bloomberg said that the
company was working hard to catch up with capabilities like ChatGPT, later saying Apple was referring to iOS 18 as “ambitious and compelling.” By
January, it was said to be viewing the upcoming OS as the biggest in the company’s history.
The Financial Times concurred, specifically stating that Siri is to get ChatGPT-level capabilities, and Apple CEO Tim Cook himself teased that the company would “share the details of our ongoing work in this space later
this year.”
Apple buying AI services from Baidu
The WSJ and Dow Jones report that shares in Baidu rose more than 5% today, following Chinese media outlet Cailian Press reporting that Baidu was set
to become Apple’s local generative Al model.
Baidu climbed 5.4% on Monday morning after a Chinese media outlet reported
the collaboration, citing people familiar with the matter […]
According to a report from Chinese media Cailian Press, the people said
Baidu will become Apple’s local generative AI model provider for the
iPhone 16, the Mac computer operating system and the upcoming mobile
operating system iOS 18.
Report unconfirmed, but plausible
Neither Apple nor Baidu has commented, but the report does seem plausible.
One of the challenges of generative AI is that models need to be trained
in a range of different languages, and certainly by region if not by
country. Apple will need a Chinese model, and it also needs to be one
which has been approved for use by the government.
Chinese regulators have to approve generative AI models before they can be launched to the public. Baidu’s Ernie Bot is one of more than 40 models
that have already been approved.
Baidu is also said by analysts to be a leading player in generative AI in
the country, and to be exceeding expectations.
https://9to5mac.com/2024/03/25/apple-buying-ai-services-from-baidu/
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