This past week, an internal summit discussing the current and upcoming machine learning and artificial intelligence advancements from Apple was held at the Steve Jobs Theater for Apple employees only. Events like these serve as a WWDC for AI, with attendance being limited to those employed by Apple and virtual viewership being available for those unable to attend in person.
This event was met with a heightened level of interest due to the news of massive advancements in AI from the likes of competitors like Google and Microsoft, with particular attention being given to achievements in intelligent assistants such as ChatGPT. In light of this, there was considerable anticipation surrounding the presentations and new developments that would arise from the summit.
On that note, Bloomberg’s writer Mark Gurman has shared an account of the AI summit in his latest edition of the Power On newsletter. According to him, Apple’s AI chief had declared to the assembled employees that “machine learning is moving faster than ever” and that the talent Apple has is “truly at the forefront.”
For any curious spectators looking for a preview of groundbreaking advancements within the field of artificial intelligence or a challenge to the newly unveiled Bing or ChatGpt, however, there was no such reveal. Gurman’s report made clear that, for the consumer, the summit failed to produce any “game changer” announcement.
Nevertheless, it would be prudent to not look too much into the lack of consumer-facing results of the summit. Apple holds these summits as an internal event and have never made it a habit to make consumer-facing announcements via such an endeavor. Such details are generally reserved for the much more consumer-focused WWDC, traditionally held in June; the AI summit is more akin to a strategy and broad roadmap discussion for advancing the company’s AI development programs and initiatives.
Similarly, although the summit may not have produced for the consumer anything as big as a competitor to ChatGPT or the New Bing, the AI summit is merely one annual even concerning artificial intelligence, and breakthroughs in AI are usually produced following a series of conferences and workshops.
In that light, the AI summit can very well be seen as a stepping stone to a major breakthrough in artificial intelligence. While the exact details and advancements weren’t revealed to the public, the fact remains that Apple has among its “truly at the forefront” talent some of the best minds in artificial intelligence, whom are continually pushing the boundaries of what is and what could be in the way of AI. So, while the summit may have ended without major consumer-facing announcements, it is important to remember that there is a whole year and many more events to come where this type of technology might be unveiled.
