Elon Musk threatens to ban Apple devices from his companies over Apple’s ChatGPT integrations

Elon Musk is threatening to ban iPhones from all his firms over the newly introduced OpenAI integrations Apple introduced at WWDC 2024 on Monday. In a sequence of posts on X, the Tesla, SpaceX and xAI exec wrote that “if Apple integrates OpenAI on the OS degree,” Apple units can be banned from his companies and guests must test their Apple units on the door the place they’ll be “saved in a Faraday cage.”

His posts appear to misconceive the connection Apple introduced with OpenAI or no less than try to depart room for doubt about consumer privateness. Whereas Apple and OpenAI each stated that customers are requested earlier than “any questions are despatched to ChatGPT,” together with any paperwork or pictures, Musk’s responses point out he believes OpenAI is deeply built-in into Apple’s working system itself and subsequently in a position to hoover up any private and personal information.

In iOS 18, Apple stated individuals will have the ability to ask Siri questions, and if the assistant thinks ChatGPT can assist, it should ask permission to share the query and current the reply immediately. This permits customers to get a solution from ChatGPT with out having to open the ChatGPT iOS app. Photographs, PDFs or different paperwork you need to ship to ChatGPT get the identical remedy.

Musk, nevertheless, would like that OpenAI’s capabilities stay certain to a devoted app — not a Siri integration.

Responding to VC and CTO Sam Pullara at Sutter Hill Ventures who wrote that the consumer is approving a selected request on a per-request foundation — OpenAI doesn’t have entry to the machine — Musk wrote, “Then go away it as an app. That is bullshit.”

Pullara had stated that the best way ChatGPT was built-in was primarily the identical means the ChatGPT app works right this moment. The on-device AI fashions are both Apple’s personal or these utilizing Apple’s Personal Cloud.

In the meantime, replying to a submit on X from YouTuber Marques Brownlee that additional defined Apple Intelligence, Musk responded, “Apple utilizing the phrases ‘shield your privateness’ whereas handing your information over to a third-party AI that they don’t perceive and may’t themselves create is *not* defending privateness in any respect!”

He even replied to a submit by Apple CEO Tim Prepare dinner, whereby he threatened to ban Apple units from the premises of his firms if he didn’t “cease this creepy adware.”

“It’s patently absurd that Apple isn’t good sufficient to make their very own AI, but is one way or the other able to making certain that OpenAI will shield your safety & privateness!” Musk exclaimed in certainly one of many posts in regards to the new integrations. “Apple has no clue what’s really occurring as soon as they hand your information over to OpenAI. They’re promoting you down the river,” he stated. Whereas it’s true that Apple might not know the internal workings of OpenAI, it’s not technically Apple handing over the info — the consumer is making that selection, from the sound of issues.

Apple additionally introduced one other integration that may enable customers to have entry to ChatGPT system-wide inside Writing Instruments by way of a “compose” function. For example, you may ask ChatGPT to write down a bedtime story in your little one in a doc, Apple instructed. You would additionally ask ChatGPT to generate photographs in quite a lot of kinds to enhance your writing. By these options, customers will primarily be accessing ChatGPT free of charge with out the friction of getting to create an account. That’s nice information for OpenAI, which can quickly have an enormous inflow of requests from Apple customers.

Apple customers might not perceive the nuances of the privateness points right here, after all — which is what Musk is relying on by making these complaints. If customers may set their very own most popular AI bot because the go-to for Siri requests or writing assist, like Anthropic’s Claude or — say, xAI’s Grok — it’s uncertain that Musk can be yelling this loudly in regards to the risks of such an integration. (In truth, Apple simply hinted that Google Gemini may very well be built-in sooner or later, in a post-keynote session.)

In its announcement, Apple says that customers’ requests and knowledge aren’t logged, however ChatGPT subscribers can join their account after which entry their paid options immediately inside Apple’s AI experiences.

“After all, you’re in management over when ChatGPT is used and will likely be requested earlier than any of your data is shared. ChatGPT integration will likely be coming to iOS 18 iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia later this 12 months,” stated Apple SVP of Software program Engineering Craig Federighi. The options will solely be obtainable on iPhone Professional 15 fashions and units that use M1 or newer chips.

OpenAI reiterated one thing related in its weblog submit, noting that “requests aren’t saved by OpenAI, and customers’ IP addresses are obscured. Customers may select to attach their ChatGPT account, which suggests their information preferences will apply below ChatGPT’s insurance policies.” The latter refers back to the elective (as in opt-in) capacity to attach the function with their paid subscription.