A hot potato: It’s no secret that Elon Musk really isn’t a fan of OpenAI – as evidenced by his lawsuit against the company. Apple’s partnership with the ChatGPT maker seems to have riled the billionaire even more, to the point where he has threatened to ban iPhones from all his companies.
Apple’s partnership with OpenAI was only talked about for around two minutes during Cupertino’s World Wide Developers Conference yesterday. Apple is integrating ChatGPT into Siri, though this will be an optional feature. If Siri determines it will help answer a query, the assistant will first ask a user for permission to access the chatbot. Users will also have to confirm they are okay with sending photos, PDFs, or other documents to ChatGPT.
Apple is presenting this partnership as a safer, more privacy-focused way to use AI, but Musk isn’t convinced. “If Apple integrates OpenAI at the OS level, then Apple devices will be banned at my companies. That is an unacceptable security violation,” he wrote in a post on X.
In a follow-up post, Musk wrote that any visitors to his companies will have to check their Apple devices at the door, where they will be stored in a Faraday cage.
And visitors will have to check their Apple devices at the door, where they will be stored in a Faraday cage
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 10, 2024
“It’s patently absurd that Apple isn’t smart enough to make their own AI, yet is somehow capable of ensuring that OpenAI will protect your security & privacy!” Musk added.
Musk also replied to a post from YouTube tech star Marques Brownlee that summarized what Apple calls Apple Intelligence. “Apple using the words “protect your privacy” while handing your data over to a third-party AI that they don’t understand and can’t themselves create is *not* protecting privacy at all!” he wrote. Brownlee pointed out that Tim Cook told him Apple never sends user data to OpenAI without asking first.
Apple using the words “protect your privacy” while handing your data over to a third-party AI that they don’t understand and can’t themselves create is *not* protecting privacy at all!
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 10, 2024
Apple writes that privacy protections are built in for users who access ChatGPT, including obscuring IP addresses and OpenAI not storing requests. The feature arrives in iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia later this year, and users can access it for free without creating an account – ChatGPT subscribers can connect their accounts and access paid features.
Musk was one of the co-founders, backers, and initial board members of OpenAI, departing the company in 2018 over what he said was a conflict of interest with Tesla. He sued the firm and CEO Sam Altman earlier this year, claiming the pair have breached their original contractual agreements by putting profit ahead of developing AI that benefits humanity.
