Apple CEO Tim Cook Says AI Rollout Will Remain ‘Thoughtful’

During the company’s Q2 earnings call on Thursday, Apple CEO Tim Cook was asked about his thoughts on artificial intelligence (AI) and how the company is incorporating it into its products and services.

While Cook did not comment on Apple’s product roadmaps, he emphasized the importance of being “deliberate and thoughtful” in approaching AI integration.

Analyst Shannon Cross of Credit Suisse asked Cook, “Tim, can you talk a bit about AI? It’s obviously more than the topic of the day. It seems like the topic of the year.”

She continued, “Just how you think about it through your products and services. I know you use it in different ways, but also if you can just give us any thoughts you have on generative AI and I don’t know where you see it going, not sure what you want to say on it, but I’m really curious for your take.”

Generative AI is the term used to describe OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard chatbots, which can respond to typed queries and more. All things Apple and Siri have yet to tackle head-on.

Cook replied, “There’s a number of issues that need to be sorted, as is being talked about in a number of different places. But the potential is certainly very interesting.” He also pointed out the significant progress Apple has made in incorporating AI and machine learning throughout its ecosystem, highlighting features like fall detection, crash detection, and ECG. Cook noted that these features are not only useful but also life-saving.

“We view AI as huge and we’ll continue weaving it into our products on a very thoughtful basis,” Cook said, reiterating the importance of cautious and well-considered AI integration.

His comments come as AI continues to gain prominence across various industries, with tech leaders from companies such as Microsoft, Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic attending a recent meeting at the White House, to discuss “responsible AI innovation.”

While OpenAI’s ChatGPT looks to be unstoppable backed by an investment by Microsoft, Google’s Bard appears to be emerging as the second generative AI rival. Where is Apple’s AI solution? Siri in its current state can only do basic things and remains crippled compared to Google Assistant.

Apple announced an impressive fiscal second quarter of 2023, reporting $94.8 billion in revenue. This quarter also set a new all-time record for Services revenue. Apple saw a net income of $24.16 billion for the period, from $94.8 billion in revenue with the latter slightly down 3% compared to the year-ago quarter.

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