Why Apple's AI feels different

In an interview at Apple's recent developer conference, executives Craig Federighi and Greg Joswiak talked about how the company thinks about artificial intelligence and it's nothing like what their competitors are doing.

Making AI invisible

Apple's approach centers on what they call "Apple Intelligence." Instead of creating a separate chatbot app, the company is weaving AI into existing features across iOS, macOS, and other platforms. The goal is to make AI so seamless that it enhances what you're already doing without drawing attention to itself.

For Apple, AI isn't the product itself but an enabling technology that makes their actual products better. The company believes people don't buy AI for its own sake. They buy products and experiences, and that's what customers really care about.

This philosophy stands in stark contrast to the chatbot wars happening elsewhere in tech. As Apple's Greg Joswiak puts it, "There's no destination, there's no app called Apple Intelligence, which is different than a good chatbot."

Quality over speed

Apple's commitment to getting things right has meant accepting delays when features don't meet their standards. The company had working versions of advanced Siri capabilities ready last year but chose to hold them back rather than ship something unreliable.

The decision to delay wasn't taken lightly. Apple ultimately rebuilt their entire AI architecture rather than compromise on quality, prioritizing user experience over being first to market.

Using the best of everything

Apple isn't trying to build every AI capability in-house. They use their own models for features like writing tools and photo search, with their private cloud compute model being competitive with GPT-4.

But they also partner with others. The ChatGPT integration gives users access to capabilities that complement Apple's features. They want to make sure customers can access the best of everything available.

The long game

Apple sees AI as a massive technological shift comparable to the internet or mobile computing. They're betting on a multimodal future where people interact with devices through voice, touch, and visual input seamlessly.

Despite criticism for being behind in AI, Apple remains confident in their approach. The company still follows Steve Jobs' philosophy: "What we have to do is create great products and tell people about them. And if we do that, everything else will work out."

The company appears comfortable not being first to market. Instead, they're focusing on AI that feels naturally integrated into devices people already use. Whether users prefer this approach over flashier AI assistants remains to be seen, but Apple's betting that the best AI is the kind you don't even notice.