On June 10, Apple launched its highly anticipated AI technology, ‘Apple Intelligence,’ at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in Cupertino, California. During the panel, software chief Craig Federighi and AI chief John Giannandrea explained that Apple has a unique approach to the technology, as its AI is integrated exclusively into the devices it sells, such as the iPhone, iPad, and MacBook.

Apple Intelligence is powered by generative AI, a type of AI that can generate content like images and text in response to prompts. The system combines generative AI models with personal context to deliver ‘personal intelligence.’ This raises the question –

Apple’s AI has the capability to understand and manage personal and social behavior. This involves recognizing and interpreting individual and social practices, emotions, and interactions in order to generate more personalized and context-aware responses and actions.

Apple Intelligence will provide increased contextual awareness. It will also deliver appropriate responses based on the context in which it is operating, including factors such as the user’s environment, current activities, and social interactions.

The AI will run on Apple Silicon, a processor designed by Apple. It will be able to comprehend and create language and images, work across applications, keep track of calendars, and simplify everyday tasks.

'Reduce Interruptions’ — This feature prioritizes notifications to minimize distractions.

'Image Playground’ — This feature helps in quick image creation. It also provides an option to choose the style: animation, illustration, or sketches.

'Genmoji’ — This feature generates a custom emoji based on typing context.

‘Image Wand’ in the Notes app — Available in the tool palette, this feature transforms rough sketches into polished images. Suggests an ideal image that goes with the notes to make them visual and engaging.

New Writing Tools — Rewrites, proofreads, and summarizes the texts. Also extended to third-party apps. Analyses relevant personal data to improve communication and writing.

Rewrite feature — Suggests different versions of written text and adjusts the tone to suit the audience and task at hand.

Email Management —Priority to urgent messages. Also provides summarized previews.

Image cleanup tool for photo libraries — Removes distracting background objects while keeping the main subject unchanged.

Cross-app actions such as photo search, podcast playback, and email management on users’ commands.

Enhanced language understanding and image creation to facilitate user interaction across various apps.

Ability to create personalized images using ‘natural language’ description.

Richer language capabilities — Follows along if a user stumbles over their words. Maintains the context from one request to the next.

Extensive product knowledge — Holds a great deal of information about features and settings, and can find a feature even if you don’t know its name.

Siri to become more contextually aware, natural, and relevant with more personal capabilities.

Option to type to Siri and switch between text and voice.

Takes action with all that is available on-screen, such as adding an address to a contact card from a text.

Image-generating capability, along with finding and enhancing pictures based on descriptions.

Aware of personal context and takes action accordingly. Seamlessly integrated into the workflow.

Apple revealed that several steps were taken to ensure the user’s privacy was not compromised.

On-device processing is integrated into the device and throughout the apps. It is aware of personal data without collecting it. This is achieved through a unique integration of hardware and software. The team made it possible with the use of Apple silicon, A17 Pro, and M-family of chips, which comprise highly capable large language and diffusion models.

Another factor is the on-device semantic index. It organizes and surfaces information across the apps and identifies relevant personal data. It then provides it to the AI to assist the user within the personal context.

Apple also used Private Cloud Compute which allows the AI to scale its computational capacity. With its help, AI can draw larger server-based models for complex requests while protecting privacy. This is made possible through Apple silicon designed especially for this purpose.

Apple Intelligence represents a bold step forward in integrating AI with personal technology, emphasizing user empowerment and privacy. Apple hopes to make daily tasks easier, communication better, and the user experience more smooth and intuitive by emphasizing on-device processing and contextual awareness. Users can anticipate a more efficient and customized engagement with their devices as Siri and other applications grow more sophisticated and context-aware.

I’ll leave the link to the full conference here.

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