Apple has temporarily halted an AI-powered feature that generated news alerts for iPhone users due to concerns over accuracy. The suspension, announced through a beta release of iOS 18.3, aims to address the problem of the AI creating inaccurate or misleading summaries, an issue often termed “hallucination” within the tech industry.
A Look At Apple’s AI Feature Controversy
The beta version of iOS 18.3 is currently available to a limited group of developers and testers. Apple stated in the update notes that the feature, which was designed to summarize news and entertainment content, has been disabled while improvements are made. Similar updates for iPads and Macs are also under testing, and features tested in beta releases typically roll out to all users in the coming weeks, according to a Business Standard report.
This development impacts Apple’s broader efforts to integrate artificial intelligence across its devices. The initiative, which the company refers to as “Apple Intelligence,” began with the release of the iPhone 16 in September 2024. Both the iPhone 16 and the earlier iPhone 15 Pro models from 2023 include specialized processors to support AI-driven functionalities.
The decision follows complaints from media organizations, including the BBC, about inaccurate news summaries generated by the feature. One significant error occurred last month when an AI-generated alert misattributed a report involving a suspect in a high-profile case. The alert falsely claimed that Luigi Mangione had shot himself, which was not true. This alert was incorrectly attributed to BBC News, prompting the organization to raise concerns.
Apple’s move echoes a similar challenge faced by Google, which last year had to revise its AI-driven search summaries after they produced several misleading results. Social media users had widely shared examples of errors made by Google’s AI feature, further highlighting the risks associated with relying on such technology for information delivery.
While Apple has paused the feature, updates to improve its reliability are expected as part of the company’s ongoing software development process.
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