Apple AI isn’t very good (r/apple)

The most reasonable answer is that Apple is simply behind in the AI arms race. However, a part of me wonders if Apple executives are purposely tanking Apple Intelligence to mold public perceptions that AI is a trash technology. Apple certainly has the influence and the reach to shape this narrative, and AI isn’t a part of Apple’s core business model.

AI is what I call “feature chum”— corporate power grabs disguised as valuable user features. AI requires large amounts of compute. Compute is expensive and won’t be subsidized forever. Three companies control 75% of the cloud computing market (Google, Amazon, Microsoft). That’s without including Meta, as they aren’t technically a cloud service provider. These companies sell computing power. AI is the most expensive product they have. The money rolls in once mass adoption is achieved and everyone is “hooked” on AI.

Apple is not a cloud computing company. In fact, they have tried to move mountains to keep computing locally on the device. Apple knows AI is a scam, but worse yet, it is not a money maker for them, in the future or otherwise. But the markets are foaming at the mouth for large language models.

It’s in Apple’s best interest for AI to disappear. Apple Intelligence has the potential to leave a bad taste in billions of people’s mouths.