Apple does AI… without saying AI

Apple avoided the AI hype at WWDC keynote

If you watched Apple’s WWDC keynote in June 2023, you may have realized the lack of mention of the term “AI” during the presentation. The term was not uttered; not even once. The technology was referred to, of course, but always in the form of “machine learning” — a more subtle and technically accurate description.

This is in complete contrast to what happened recently at events of other Big Tech companies, such as Google I/O or Microsoft Build.

Apple, as it often does, took a different route. Instead of highlighting AI as an omnipotent force in its own right, they only pointed to the features they developed by baking machine learning into its products.

Here’s a list of the Machine Learning / AI features that Apple unveiled:

Improved Auto-correct🤖

An enhanced auto-correct feature, powered by a transformer language model. This Machine learning model improves auto-correction and sentence completion as users type.

Personalized Volume Feature for AirPods🔊

This feature uses machine learning to adapt to environmental conditions and user listening preferences.

Enhanced Smart Stack on watchOS⌚

The Smart Stack (the feature that lets you pin widgets to your home screen) upgrade uses machine learning to display relevant information to users.

Journal App📖

This new app employs on-device Machine Learning to intelligently curate customized journaling prompts based on contacts, photos, music, workouts, location data, and even podcasts.