The CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and social media platform X criticised Apple’s announcement of a new partnership with OpenAI.
Elon Musk is ready to ban Apple devices at his companies if they install OpenAI’s ChatGPT into their iPhones.
Apple announced at their development conference on Monday they are integrating ChatGPT into the operating systems of MacBooks and iPhones, so they can use the AI chatbot’s capabilities “without needing to jump between tools,” according to the official announcement.
That kind of update, according to Musk, would be an “unacceptable security violation”.
“It’s patently absurd that Apple isn’t smart enough to make their own AI, yet is somehow capable of ensuring that OpenAi will protect your security and privacy!” Musk wrote in a social media post.
Visitors to X headquarters in San Francisco would also have “to check their Apple devices at the door, where they will be stored in a Faraday cage,” Musk added on the platform, referencing a type of container that stops signals from coming in and out.
ChatGPT will be integrated into Siri and a new update called Writing Tools, where artificial intelligence (AI) “will help you find the right words virtually everywhere you write,” according to Apple’s announcement.
Siri requests made by users, including any documents and photos, can also be sent to ChatGPT for help.
Any requests made to OpenAI through Apple’s Siri and Writing Tools are “not stored” and IP addresses will be obscured, an announcement from OpenAI continued.
Privacy is “integrated” into the core of Apple products to “protect [users] at every step,” a statement from Apple said. “It’s aware of your personal information without collecting [it]”.
“Apple shares our commitment to safety and innovation, and this partnership aligns with OpenAI’s mission to make advanced AI accessible to everyone,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a statement announcing the companies’ new partnership.
Musk was one of the co-founders of OpenAI in 2015 but stepped down from the board in 2018.
Lately, he’s been an outspoken critic of the AI giant, launching a lawsuit against OpenAI earlier this year. The suit alleges OpenAI abandoned the company’s founding mission of developing AI “for the benefit of humanity”.
In May, Musk raised $6 billion (€5.5 billion) for his AI competitor, xAI. Grok, its main product, is modeled after the “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” where it can “answer almost anything”.
The ChatGPT and Apple partnership is coming later this year with free software updates for users of the latest iPhone, iPad and Mac products.
