Apple has yet to launch a generative AI product to compete with the likes of ChatGPT and Google Bard. But when it comes to answering questions about Apple’s generative AI efforts, CEO Tim Cook’s comments are ready for mass production.
Cook has uttered nearly the exact same words about the company’s AI strategy in recent earnings calls, at times sounding like he’s reading from the same script.
During Thursday’s call with analysts following Apple’s fiscal fourth quarter earnings report, Cook began by noting Apple’s long track record in artificial intelligence:
“We view AI and machine learning as fundamental technologies, and they’re integral to virtually every product that we show,” Cook said before ticking off a list of AI features already in Apple products including crash detection, fall detection, and the ECG feature in the Apple Watch.
If that sounds familiar, you were probably tuned in to Apple’s fiscal third quarter call in August:
“We view AI and machine learning as core fundamental technologies that are integral to virtually every product that we build,” Cook said then, with only three words difference from Thursday’s comments. He also then listed fall detection, crash detection and the Watch ECG feature.
Chief executives often repeat themselves over the course of earnings calls, if for no other reason than to drive certain points home to analysts who appraise their companies and recommend actions to investors. And Apple is famous for keeping mum about its future product plans.
Apple reported its fourth consecutive quarterly revenue decline on Thursday, though iPhone sales increased. Shares of Apple were down roughly 3% in after hours trading.
Analysts are especially focused on how companies are integrating AI into their products and operations, and how it will impact their financial results. It has largely been the topic of conversation during many Big Tech earnings calls in recent months. During Microsoft’s call last week, six of eight analysts that executives took questions from asked about AI.
Bloomberg’s Apple reporter Mark Gurman has reported that the company is quietly building an “Apple GPT” large language model that’s similar to OpenAI’s buzzy ChatGPT. While Apple has not confirmed that any such product is in the works, Cook noted on Thursday that “in terms of generative AI, obviously we have work going on. I’m not going to get into details about what it is, because as you know we really don’t do that.”
“You can bet that we’re investing quite a bit, we’re going to do it responsibly, and you will see product advancements over time,” Cook continued on Thursday, after his pre-amble about Apple’s AI track record. Once again, his response followed in the footsteps he set three months earlier in his answer to the generative AI question: “We’re going to continue investing and innovating and responsibly advancing our products.”
Astute readers will notice that the generative AI “investing” that Cook referred to in August has now been upgraded to “investing quite a bit.” So perhaps Cook is changing the message.