During the WWDC 2024 keynote, Apple CEO Tim Cook introduced Apple Intelligence, the company’s AI initiative, and a partnership with ChatGPT. While Cupertino will ensure that these two projects work seamlessly, they have core features that separate them.
With Apple AI, the company ensures that all data is private through Private Cloud Compute, while OpenAI’s ChatGPT usually collects user data. In an interview with YouTuber Marques Brownlee, Apple’s top executive explained the core difference between Apple Intelligence and ChatGPT partnership.
“There’s Private Cloud Computing, and there’s the arrangement with OpenAI,” says Tim Cook. “These two things are different. So, if you look at Private Cloud Compute, we’re utilizing the same basic architecture as the silicon that’s in the iPhone 15. We’re using the same software, and so we believe that we’ve done it in such a way that it’s as safe and secure and private in the Private Cloud Compute as in the device.”
That means Apple won’t collect user’s data, won’t make a profile of the user, or take this data to sell it elsewhere. Cupertino aimed to extend the iPhone’s on-device processing to the next level with a level of security that people are used to with their iPhones.
Tim Cook continues: “So we really, we really worked on this on a lot and put a lot of work behind that arrow to be sure that if you’re working on something that requires world knowledge, so you’re out of the domain of personal context and so forth, then you may want to go and use one of the large language models that are on the market, and we will be selected what we feel is the best one with OpenAI and ChatGPT.”
That said, all personal requests related to Apple’s built-in apps, such as Messages, Mail, Calendar, and more, will use the company’s intelligence. In contrast, “world knowledge” can be requested for OpenAI ChatGPT and later for other large language models.
Still, Apple’s CEO says that every time you might want to ask for world knowledge, Siri will confirm if you’re OK with sharing that data with third-party apps. “You’ll make a conscious decision to do that every time,” Cook emphasizes.
The executive also talks about his favorite products and more insights from WWDC 2024 during the interview.
