Why Apple never uttered the words ‘artificial intelligence’ at its iPhone event
During the playing of Apple’s canned video “It’s Glowtime” event on Monday, the company never mentioned the words “artificial intelligence.” And, for good reason. Last month, a study published in the Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management found that describing a product as powered by artificial intelligence tends to lower a customer’s intention to buy it.
A study published in the Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management in June found that describing a product as using AI lowers a customer’s intention to buy it. Researchers sampled participants across various age groups and showed them the same products – the only difference between them: one was described as “high tech” and the other as using AI, or artificial intelligence.
“We looked at vacuum cleaners, TVs, consumer services, health services,” said Dogan Gursoy, one of the study’s authors… “In every single case, the intention to buy or use the product or service was significantly lower whenever we mentioned AI in the product description.”
There are two kinds of trust that the study says play a part in consumers’ less-than-rosy perception of products that describe themselves as “AI-powered.”
The first kind, cognitive trust, has to do with the higher standard that people hold AI to as a machine they expect to be free from human error. So, when AI does slip up, that trust can be quickly eroded.
Gursoy says that limited knowledge and understanding about the inner workings of AI forces consumers to fall back on emotional trust and make their own subjective judgments about the technology. “One of the reasons why people are not willing to use AI devices or technologies is fear of the unknown,” he said.
Another part of the equation influencing customers is the perceived risk around AI – particularly with how it handles users’ personal data. “People have worries about privacy. They don’t know what’s going on in the background, the algorithms, how they run, that raises some concern,” said Gursoy.
MacDailyNews Take: This is why it’s called “Apple Intelligence” and why it’s almost always accompanied with messages about privacy.
From Apple’s September 9, 2024 press release, “Apple Intelligence comes to iPhone, iPad, and Mac starting next month,” the phrase “artificial intelligence” is never used and the company repeatedly mentions privacy and security (bold emphasis added):
Apple Intelligence is deeply integrated into iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia, harnessing the power of Apple silicon to understand and create language and images, take action across apps, and draw from personal context to simplify and accelerate everyday tasks — all while protecting users’ privacy and security…
An Extraordinary Step Forward for Privacy in AI
Apple Intelligence is designed to protect users’ privacy at every step. A cornerstone of Apple Intelligence is on-device processing, and many of the models that power it run entirely on device. To run more complex requests that require more processing power, Private Cloud Compute extends the privacy and security of Apple devices into the cloud to unlock even more intelligence.
Private Cloud Compute marks a fundamental breakthrough in server-based intelligence. When using Private Cloud Compute, users’ data is never stored or shared with Apple; it is used only to fulfill their request. Independent experts can inspect the code that runs on Apple silicon servers to continuously verify this privacy promise and are already doing so.
In addition, for users who choose to access ChatGPT through Siri or Writing Tools, privacy protections are built in — their IP addresses are obscured, and OpenAI won’t store requests. Users can access ChatGPT for free without creating an account, and ChatGPT’s data-use policies apply for those who choose to connect their account.
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