During Apple's annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday, Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook announced plans to provide more details about the company's utilization of generative artificial intelligence (AI) later this year.
As reported by Reuters, Cook emphasized Apple's significant investment in this area, stating, "We believe that will unlock transformative opportunities for users when it comes to productivity, problem solving and more."
Although Apple, according to Reuters, has been slower than rivals like Microsoft and Google in integrating generative AI into its products, Cook assured shareholders that AI is already at work behind the scenes in Apple's offerings. However, he hinted at forthcoming announcements regarding explicit AI features. Bloomberg previously reported Apple's intentions to leverage AI to enhance data search capabilities on its devices. "Every Mac that is powered by Apple silicon is an extraordinarily capable AI machine," Cook said.
What Do The Shareholders Think?
Cook highlighted the AI capabilities of Apple's Mac computers powered by Apple silicon, asserting their superiority in AI processing. It was noted by Reuters that despite these advancements, Apple shareholders rejected a proposal urging the company to disclose more information about its use of AI and its ethical guidelines for the technology.
The proposal, put forth by the AFL-CIO pension trust, sought transparency regarding Apple's AI practices and ethical guidelines. In its supporting statement in Apple's proxy materials, the AFL-CIO wrote that "AI systems should not be trained on copyrighted works, or the voices, likenesses and performances of professional performers, without transparency, consent and compensation to creators and rights holders."
While the proposal was defeated at Apple's shareholder meeting, similar measures have been proposed at other technology companies, including an upcoming discussion at Walt Disney's annual meeting in April.
