In the midst of the ongoing “AI wars,” Apple has finally entered the scene by developing its very own chatbot, which engineers have playfully nicknamed “AppleGPT” but officially titled “Ajax.” Leveraging Google’s JAX framework, the large language model (LLM) is making significant progress, and sources reveal that Apple has multiple teams dedicated to the project, with one team focusing on addressing potential privacy concerns.
While the specifics of Ajax’s application remain unclear, Apple has yet to finalize concrete plans regarding use cases, launch dates, or platforms. However, an unnamed source disclosed to Bloomberg that an official announcement, along with more comprehensive details, is expected next year. Additionally, Apple’s annual earnings call, scheduled for next month, may provide further insights into the Ajax project.
Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, recently hinted at the company’s interest in generative AI during an interview on Good Morning America, stating that it is an area they are “looking at closely.” Leading the development initiative are John Giannandrea and Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, Craig Federighi. Giannandrea, initially hired to oversee Siri and its machine learning capabilities, brings valuable expertise to the project, potentially signaling improvements for the digital assistant.
The generative AI sector has witnessed a surge of interest in recent months, with prominent tech giants enthusiastically participating in the development of advanced chatbot technologies. Just yesterday, Meta and Microsoft released Llama 2, an AI chatbot designed for commercial use, highlighting the intense competition and investment in this cutting-edge domain.
As the AI landscape continues to evolve rapidly, Apple’s foray into the chatbot arena with Ajax indicates the company’s commitment to exploring and harnessing the potential of generative AI. While the specifics await an official announcement, Apple’s move signals an exciting shift for its products and services, potentially presenting users with innovative and sophisticated AI-powered capabilities.
