Apple is Setting Up for Its AI Moment

🍏 Many are wondering where is Apple in all the AI craze, with only faint whispers coming out of Apple.

What role will they play in the AI race as a leader in the tech world for nearly two decades? As I've continuously said many have turned to Google as the data powerhouse but Apple is the true 👑

Moving beyond search, Apple's combination of Hardware + Software integration sets them up beautifully. They will not be chasing but looking back in the rearview mirror as they often do.

Apple has invested heavily in perfecting its on-device neural engine, which is capable of incredible operations while being energy efficient & compact. With the release of the M1/M2 & soon the M3 chips, the neural engine has become even more powerful.

This tech will enable Apple to launch its own secure & private LLM that runs on devices, with heavier workloads offloaded to a cloud-based LLM optimized for heavier tasks. The tight integration of hardware + software will make this AI omnipresent allowing Apple to sell new hardware to run it. Again, Apple separates from the pack. It will be interesting to see what is announced at Apple’s WWDC 2023 on June 5th.

However, it won’t be an Apple takes-all outcome. With the rise of OpenAI’s ChatGPT popularity in recent months & the intro of its GPT4 model & plugin integration. OpenAI is setting up to disrupt the big tech mount Rushmore as we know it.

To better understand, a “General Purpose transformer” or GPT is just a computer. Not one we are accustomed to, but a computer nonetheless. Plugins on the other hand are apps that run on that computer. So with GPT-4 plugins, almost anyone will eventually be able to extend GPT = infinite applications. Imagine how Apple sped up the creation of applications with the iPhone & the App Store. That is the best analogy to use here.

Nothing in tech lasts forever & no one company reigns supreme for eternity. Just as kingdoms and countries fall, so do companies.

These new LLMs from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Microsoft & Facebook along w/ others will form the new protocol-level technology upon which most new software will be built. Leading to the rise of All-in-One super apps that can internally solve any number of problems even if there is only one user. Any questions or tasks that you can conjure up, type into a text box, or speak into a microphone will be possible for an LLM to interpret, generate, then action.

I repeat, Action. That is where all AI leads, not just being able to generate & give inspiration but actually execute doing the thing you need it to. We are very much still witnessing the in-between stages of this.

However, I expect things will advance rather rapidly. Setting fire to Moore’s law & establishing a whole new timeline for technological advancement. I won’t even touch on what this means for the infamous VR, AR, Web3 & the Metaverse but it's not hard to see.

It will all come at a cost as with any major tech revolution. Jobs being replaced by AI is a forgone conclusion. Those who choose to be skeptics & ignore, turning an ignorant blind eye will be left behind. For those, I have no empathy.

Now, this does not mean it will replace everything. Instead, new roles will emerge & our relationship with AI will undoubtedly transform beyond what we envision. Perhaps more hopeful than others, I foresee a much more symbiotic almost harmonic flow between man & machine intelligence.

The future isn't written, which is why we MUST remain weary & careful.

I will end with this:

Our world is about to completely change with AI over the course of the next 5-10 years. The fact is that AI already has begun to change our lives & even that timeline might be too generous. So embrace the journey & learn as much as possible but remember we all have a role to play in maintaining an optimistically cautious approach to this revolutionary technology as we begin to take flight towards this new paradigm. 🕊️