Cook said that Apple would "open up a new world" in the field of generative artificial intelligence (AIGC).
On February 28th local time, Apple held its annual shareholder meeting. Apple CEO Tim Cook stated at the meeting that Apple is making significant investments in the field of generative artificial intelligence, and he also promised that Apple will share plans related to generative artificial intelligence technology later this year.
Cook said that Apple has seen "incredible breakthrough potential in generative artificial intelligence, which is why we are currently investing heavily in this field.". Apple believes that this will bring revolutionary opportunities for users in terms of productivity, problem-solving, and more.
Analysis suggests that this is one of the strongest signals that Apple is embracing the wave of generative artificial intelligence.
Compared to competitors such as Microsoft, Apple's progress in the field of generative artificial intelligence is relatively slow.
At present, Apple has not launched products that compete with large models such as OpenAI's GPT or Google's Gemini. Foreign media previously reported that Apple plans to use artificial intelligence to improve its ability to search for data stored on Apple devices. There are also reports that Apple has been testing the "Ajax" large language model since the beginning of 2023 to build Apple's large language model and chatbot.
Cook stated at the shareholder meeting that Apple will disclose more information about artificial intelligence features later this year. He mentioned that the company will "open up a new world" in the field of generative AI in 2024.
It is also worth noting that Apple has always tended to avoid using the term "artificial intelligence" and instead use "machine learning" instead. Cook also redefined several released Apple products as "AI driven" at the shareholder meeting to emphasize that the company has been committed to this technology for many years.
Just the day before the shareholder meeting, it was revealed that Apple had terminated its ten-year automotive project, and some teams would turn to artificial intelligence projects. As Apple's most ambitious project, abandoning the car making project is in stark contrast to the current industry's popular AI models such as Sora.
Cook stated that the current features using Apple's artificial intelligence technology include Vision Pro's hand tracking tool and Apple Watch's heart rate alarm. He also stated that the chips in Apple's MacBook can run artificial intelligence.
Cook said, "Artificial intelligence allows the Apple Watch to help you track your exercise, automatically detect whether you are walking or swimming. If you encounter a car accident, it can let your iPhone call for help."
He also emphasized, "All Macs powered by Apple chips are very powerful artificial intelligence machines. In fact, there is currently no better computer on the market for artificial intelligence than a Mac."
In addition, at the shareholder meeting, Apple shareholders rejected a proposal to request the company to release an artificial intelligence risk report. The proposal was submitted by the AFL-CIO Stock Index Fund, requiring Apple to disclose ethical guidelines for artificial intelligence. Apple has stated that this proposal has failed, claiming that it may leak company secrets.
As of the close on February 28th, Apple fell slightly by 0.66% to close at $181.42, with a market value of $2.8 trillion.