Not So Intelligent: Apple Halts AI News Summaries After Facing Flak Over Erroneous Content
The AI feature—which was reportedly distorting news notifications to show false information—has been disabled in the beta versions of Apple iOS 18.3, iPadOS 18.3, and macOS Sequoia 15.3.
(Source: Apple)
While artificial intelligence has been adopted by the business world at large with gusto, among the go-slow on this technology was tech major Apple. However, after finally jumping on the AI bandwagon, the company is rethinking some parts of its strategy and is actually pulling back on certain aspects.
Now, in the aftermath of a slew of glaring mistakes along with criticism across the globe, Apple has temporarily halted its AI news summary feature. Various news and entertainment apps have started displaying a brief notice within the iPhone settings app, which stated that AI-powered summaries were “temporarily unavailable.”
The feature has been disabled in the beta versions of iOS 18.3, iPadOS 18.3, and macOS Sequoia 15.3. The pause is reportedly only for users of beta software, while people using Apple’s primary operating systems are unaffected.
Apple Intelligence: Not Intelligent Enough
The move to halt news summaries—which sent notifications that looked like they were coming from news companies’ apps—comes on the heels of the tech giant facing tremendous pressure as multiple media reports showed that Apple Intelligence had been distorting news notifications to show false information.
The decision also coincides with Apple’s stock closing 4% down—its lowest trading day since Aug. 5 - after Ming-Chi Kuo, a well-known supply chain expert, wrote that Apple Intelligence does not seem to be increasing iPhone sales.
The company had touted Apple Intelligence as one of the main USPs of the iPhone 16 series launched last year. However, the software and its features have been plagued by problems. Rollout has been staggered; some features have been criticised for lacking innovation, while others for not being “intelligent” enough.
Notably, the AI-powered summaries feature has drawn criticism for its erroneous headlines and bizarre content. Recently, Apple Intelligence-powered news summary reportedly declared that English darts player Luke Littler had won even before he competed in the PDC World Championship final. Another AI summary purportedly mislead readers that tennis star Rafael Nadal had come out as gay.
These faults weren’t the first. Apple faced criticism in December after the feature erroneously suggested that Luigi Mangione, the man suspected of killing a healthcare insurance CEO in New York, had shot himself.
Changes To Notification Summaries
Apple is reportedly working on software enhancements for Apple Intelligence for a future update, although it could take weeks. Until then, and with the latest update, AI summaries will be displayed in italics to help users distinguish notification summaries from regular notifications.
The summaries will also be pulled for specific apps only. Additionally, users will get the option to turn off notification summaries for a particular app right from the lock screen.
