By Apple
17 Facebook x.com Reddit
In a new interview, CEO Tim Cook says Apple began exploring what became Apple Intelligence in 2017, just as Apple Park was opening.
It’s been claimed many times that Apple is behind the industry in artificial intelligence, and it’s been debunked just as often. Now, before it was known as Apple Intelligence, Tim Cook says AI has snuck up on Apple — but it’s been snuck up on it for a long time.
“I wouldn’t say there was a lightbulb moment,” he told Steven Levy at Wired. “It was building, like a wave or a clap of thunder.”
“Back in 2017, we built a neural engine into our products,” he continued. “It was already obvious that AI and machine learning were huge… It became obvious that we needed to shift a lot of people to this, that this was going to be a new era for our products.”
It was 2018 when Apple hired Google's AI chief John Giannandrea, and he said machine learning would soon permeate everything. But it wasn't until 2024 that Apple announced Apple Intelligence.
Following the WWDC announcement, Apple unveiled some of the Apple Intelligence features in iOS 18.1. There's much more coming in iOS 18.2, which is expected to continue to improve through at least 2025.
Making AI Useful But Private
Saying that Apple “wanted to innovate in a way that was personal and private,” Cook said there was debate before settling on the name Apple Intelligence. But he also said there was no debate or discussion about charging users for the AI tools.
“We've never talked about charging for it,” Cook says. “We see it as multitouch, which made the smartphone revolution and the modern tablet possible.”
Cook insists that Apple Intelligence doesn’t replace humans, but helps them do things better. “It’s still coming from you,” he says. “It’s your thoughts and your perspective.”
He draws an analogy: “Logic Pro helps musicians create music, but they’re still composers.” And he compares AI to “the productivity that came with the personal computer.”
Cook is less convinced about one of Apple’s own ads, in which a job candidate uses Apple Intelligence to rewrite her cover letter to sound more professional.
“Using the tool makes [the app] look more polished,” he says. “It’s still your decision to use the tool. It’s like you and I working together on something — one plus one equals more than two, right?”
Working at Apple Park
Cook is also excited about the collaboration he says Apple Park has brought, calling the decision to build it a 100-year decision.”
“There are so many places [here] where you just unexpectedly run into people,” he says. “In the coffee shop, in the coffee shop, on the street when you cross the street.”
It's been three years since Cook said he would “probably” leave Apple within a decade. Today, he won't give an exact figure, though he says he “gets asked that question more often than I used to.”
“It's the privilege of a lifetime to be here,” he continues, “and I'll keep doing it until the voice in my head says, 'It's time,' and then I'll go and focus on about what the next chapter will look like.”
“But it’s hard to imagine life without Apple because my life has been tied to this company since 1998,” Cook says. “It’s been a big part of my adult life. And that’s why I love it.”
Separately, Cook has been talking more about the early part of his career these days than the end, talking about how his family’s work ethic helps him at Apple today.
Follow AppleInsider on Google News
