Apple Suspends AI Feature that Drew Criticism for Inaccurate News Summaries
Apple has suspended a new artificial intelligence (AI) feature that generated summaries of news headlines, which drew criticism and complaints for making repeated mistakes. The feature, which was only available to users with the latest iPhones, was criticized by journalists, media outlets, and press groups for spreading misinformation and and harming the reputation of news organizations.
The feature, which used AI to generate summaries of news headlines, was accused of making false reports and inaccurately summarizing headlines from various news organizations, including the BBC, Sky News, the New York Times, and the Washington Post. The feature was also criticized for not clearly labeling the generated summaries as artificial intelligence-generated content.
Apple had faced mounting pressure to withdraw the service, which sent notifications that appeared to come from within news organizations’ apps. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said that the feature showed the dangers of rushing out new features without ensuring their accuracy.
Apple’s decision to suspend the feature was welcomed by journalism bodies, including the BBC, which had complained to Apple about the feature’s inaccuracies. “We are pleased that Apple has listened to our concerns and is pausing the summarization feature for news,” said a BBC spokesperson.
The decision to suspend the feature is seen as a rare U-turn by Apple, which is known for its robust defense of its products. The company has promised to work on improvements and will release the feature again in a future software update. However, some experts have warned that the feature could still be flawed, as AI models are prone to “hallucinations,” where they create information that is not actually present in the data they are trained on.