Why Apple is Quietly Buying AI Companies

ColdFusion
30 Jan 202413:31

TLDRThis Cold Fusion episode discusses Apple's secretive yet significant advancements in AI, contrasting with the current limitations of Siri. It highlights Apple's acquisition of 21 AI startups and their development of a large language model called Ajax, potentially revolutionizing Siri and other Apple services. The episode also delves into internal conflicts within the Siri team and Apple's potential to leverage edge AI with its billion-user base, suggesting a possible major breakthrough in AI technology for Apple devices.

Takeaways

  • 🌟 Apple's acquisition of 21 AI startups since 2017 indicates a significant investment in AI technology.
  • 🚀 Apple's secret development of AI, including a large language model called Ajax GPT, suggests a potential leap forward for Siri.
  • 🤖 The internal strife within the Siri team has led to a lack of meaningful progress and a brain drain of engineers to competitors.
  • 📈 Apple's strategy of acquiring AI companies like Inductive and PoolString aims to enhance Siri's natural language understanding and integration into iOS.
  • 💡 The potential introduction of Edge AI could provide faster, more secure performance by eliminating the need for cloud servers.
  • 🧠 Apple's control over both hardware and software allows for tighter integration and efficiency in on-device AI systems.
  • 📚 Apple researchers have managed to implement a large language model on a MacBook that runs faster than standard models.
  • 🛠️ The innovative storage of AI models in a device's flash memory instead of RAM is one technique Apple has used to improve efficiency.
  • 📱 Apple's advantage in the AI space includes over a billion devices in consumer hands, providing a vast platform for immediate AI feature deployment.
  • 🔮 Apple's potential to surprise the market with a polished AI offering remains to be seen, given the current challenges faced by the company.

Q & A

  • What is the main scenario depicted in the video transcript?

    -The main scenario is a person coming home exhausted and forgetting about Valentine's Day plans. They use their iPhone to ask Siri to plan a date night, which includes a lookout spot for sunset watching, dinner at a restaurant, and a visit to an art gallery.

  • Why is the scenario described as fictional?

    -The scenario is fictional because, as of the time of the transcript, Siri does not have the capability to automatically execute a series of tasks like planning a date night from start to finish.

  • What does the video suggest about the potential of generative AI?

    -The video suggests that with the advancements in generative AI, the scenario of a voice-first AI-powered device like the fictional 'rabbit R1' interfacing with apps to complete tasks on behalf of the user could become technically possible.

  • How has Apple been involved in AI acquisitions since 2017?

    -Since 2017, Apple has been the most active in AI acquisitions, buying 21 AI startups. This is more than Microsoft, Meta, and Google's parent company, Alphabet.

  • What was the goal of Apple's foundational models team assembled in 2020?

    -The goal of the foundational models team was to develop conversational AI similar to Chat GPT, but with a focus on UND (undefined) device, machine learning, and privacy.

  • What is the reported name of Apple's large language model?

    -Apple's large language model is reportedly called Ajax GPT.

  • What issues have plagued the Siri team within Apple?

    -The Siri team has faced issues such as lack of data on user engagement, disagreements on the direction of the assistant, resistance from leadership to certain AI developments, and a high turnover of employees.

  • What was the aim of the project Blackbird?

    -The aim of the project Blackbird was to rebuild Siri from the ground up to make it faster, lighter, and more modular.

  • How does Apple's approach to AI differ from its competitors?

    -Apple's approach differs in that it focuses on on-device or Edge AI, which runs on the device itself without needing cloud servers or an internet connection, offering faster, more secure, and more reliable performance for AI computing.

  • What advantage does Apple have over its competitors in terms of AI implementation?

    -Apple has the advantage of having devices in the hands of over a billion users, which allows them to leverage on-device AI systems and push out features to a vast consumer base almost instantly.

  • How have Apple researchers improved the performance of large language models on devices?

    -Apple researchers have improved performance by storing the model in the device's flash memory instead of RAM and using techniques that allow them to run models two times larger than the computer's physical memory, making the models 4 to 25 times faster than standard models.

Outlines

00:00

🤖 Introduction to AI in Daily Life and Apple's Secret AI Endeavors

The paragraph introduces a hypothetical scenario where an AI assistant named Siri plans a Valentine's Day date, highlighting the current limitations of voice assistants. It then transitions into discussing Apple's secretive but active involvement in the AI sector, including their acquisition of AI startups and development of a large language model called Ajax GPT. The speaker also mentions Apple's history of entering markets late but with decisive impact, suggesting that Apple's AI efforts could significantly improve Siri and other Apple services.

05:01

💥 Inside Apple's Struggles with Siri and AI

This paragraph delves into the internal issues within Apple's Siri team, as revealed by a report from April 2023. It describes the disagreements between engineers and management over Siri's development, lack of data for improvement, and Apple's insistence on keeping Siri's functionalities on-device. The summary also touches on the departure of key engineers to Google and the cancellation of projects aimed at revamping Siri. Furthermore, it mentions the dissatisfaction of the team working on Apple's mixed reality headset with Siri's capabilities, indicating a need for significant improvements.

10:03

🚀 Apple's Strategy for Advancements in AI and On-Device Computing

The final paragraph discusses Apple's potential strategies for enhancing Siri and leveraging AI technology. It mentions the possible integration of large language models into Siri with the upcoming iOS 18 and Apple's acquisition of companies like Inductive AI to improve Siri's natural language understanding. The speaker also highlights Apple's unique advantage of having over a billion devices in use, which could allow for rapid deployment of AI features. Additionally, the paragraph covers Apple's investment in on-device AI processing capabilities, such as the acquisition of Xnor AI and the development of efficient on-device large language models. The speaker concludes with a reflection on Siri's current state and speculation on Apple's potential to surprise the market with a breakthrough in AI technology.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Generative AI

Generative AI refers to artificial intelligence models that can generate new content, including text, images, and responses to queries, based on their training data. In the context of the video, generative AI is highlighted as the technology enabling hypothetical scenarios, like Siri planning a complete date night autonomously. The video discusses the potential of generative AI to revolutionize how we interact with devices, emphasizing its role in creating more intuitive and helpful AI assistants.

💡Siri

Siri is Apple's voice assistant, introduced to provide users with an interactive way to control their devices and access information using voice commands. The video critiques Siri's current limitations and effectiveness, noting a lack of substantial progress in its development compared to other AI technologies. The narrative explores the reasons behind Siri's stagnation and the internal conflicts within Apple that have hindered its improvement.

💡Rabbit R1

The Rabbit R1 is presented in the video as a fictional device designed to integrate with apps to complete tasks on behalf of the user through voice commands. It symbolizes the evolving expectation of AI devices to perform complex tasks seamlessly. The mention of the Rabbit R1 serves as a critique of current technologies and a push towards imagining more capable AI assistants.

💡AI Integration in Smartphones

AI integration in smartphones refers to the incorporation of artificial intelligence capabilities directly into mobile devices. The video discusses how tech companies like Google and Samsung have started integrating AI into their smartphones, contrasting Apple's slower approach in this area. It emphasizes the trend of making smartphones not just communication tools but intelligent assistants capable of understanding and predicting user needs.

💡Apple's AI Development

Apple's AI development is discussed in the context of their silent yet significant acquisition of AI startups and the research into generative AI. Despite Apple's low profile in the AI discourse, the video reveals that the company has been actively buying AI companies and investing in AI research, pointing towards a future where Apple could surprise the market with advanced AI integrations in its products.

💡Internal Conflicts

Internal conflicts within Apple, especially in the Siri development team, are highlighted as a major reason for Siri's lagging performance. The video details how disagreements over the direction, lack of access to data for improvement, and management's reluctance to adopt more open AI models have created a stagnant development environment, leading to a 'dumpster fire' situation within the Siri team.

💡On-Device AI

On-device AI refers to the capability of running AI models directly on a device, such as a smartphone or laptop, without needing to connect to external servers. The video discusses Apple's focus on on-device AI for privacy and efficiency reasons, noting the potential advantages of faster, more secure AI interactions that do not require internet connectivity.

💡Edge AI

Edge AI is a form of on-device AI that processes data locally, without sending it to the cloud. This concept is significant in the video's discussion of Apple's AI strategy, emphasizing the potential for privacy-preserving, efficient AI computing on Apple devices. Edge AI represents a shift towards more autonomous, reliable, and instant AI computing capabilities embedded in everyday gadgets.

💡Large Language Models

Large language models (LLMs) like GPT-3 are AI systems capable of understanding and generating human-like text. The video mentions Apple's development of Ajax GPT, an LLM rumored to outperform existing models. LLMs are central to the video's theme, showcasing the potential for AI to understand and execute complex tasks based on natural language inputs.

💡AI Ethics and Privacy

AI ethics and privacy concerns are implicitly addressed through the video's discussion of Apple's approach to AI, emphasizing on-device processing to protect user data. The narrative contrasts Apple's cautious, privacy-first approach with the broader industry's rush towards cloud-based AI, highlighting the ethical considerations in developing AI technologies that respect user privacy and data security.

Highlights

The scenario of Siri planning a date night is fictional but technologically possible with generative AI breakthroughs.

The Rabbit R1 device demonstrates the potential of voice-first AI powered devices to interface with other apps on behalf of the user.

Apple has been quiet about AI but has bought the most AI companies since 2017, totaling 21 acquisitions.

Apple has invested about $1 billion in AI ventures, covering specialties from self-driving technology to voice design and image recognition.

Apple's approach is to move last but decisively, as they did with the computer mouse, graphical interface, smartphone, tablet, and smartwatch.

Apple has been researching generative AI for years and has a foundational models team working on conversational AI focused on UND device, machine learning, and privacy.

Apple has created a large language model called Ajax GPT, rumored to outperform GPT 3.5.

There are whispers about Apple working on an AI-powered chatbot based on Ajax GPT, with a possible release in mid-2024.

Apple has released frameworks and model libraries designed to run on its chipsets, hinting at generative AI apps for MacBooks.

Multiple teams within Apple are working on various AI projects, indicating a lot of behind-the-scenes activity.

Siri's development has been hindered by internal conflicts, lack of data, and a strict control approach by Apple executives.

Apple's obsession with control over the user experience has clashed with the nature of generative AI responses.

Apple's management has resisted using AI-generated responses for Siri, opting for pre-written responses from a team of writers.

Apple's hardware and software integration provides a unique position for implementing on-device AI systems more efficiently.

Apple's acquisition of Xnor AI for $200 million signifies an investment in on-device processing capabilities.

Apple researchers have managed to implement a large language model on a MacBook that runs faster than standard models.

The potential of on-device AI eliminates the need for cloud servers, offering faster, more secure, and reliable AI computing.

Apple's advantage in the AI space is their existing device user base of over a billion users, allowing for rapid deployment of AI features.

Apple's internal strife and the lagging development of Siri raise questions about their future in the fast-paced AI industry.

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