Apple will be suspending an artificial intelligence feature that generated inaccurate summaries of news headlines. The feature falsely informed some iPhone users that Luigi Mangione, who is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, had committed suicide. After receiving a complaint from the BBC regarding a graphic news bulletin, Apple decided to suspend this feature as part of the next software update.
Other false notices included claims such as Luke Littler winning the PDC World Darts Final before the actual competition and tennis player Rafael Nadal allegedly ‘coming out’ as gay. Apple stated that the News and Entertainment category notifications will be temporarily unavailable while they work on improvements for future software updates. This AI feature is a part of Apple’s initiative to enhance its products under the label “Apple Intelligence,” which is available in the US, UK, Australia, and Canada but not in the EU and China.
The National Union of Journalists in the UK had previously called for the removal of this feature to prevent further misinformation and damage to online journalism. Apple is working on a new version that will alert users of potential errors using italicized text in the summaries.
Overall, Apple’s decision to suspend this feature was welcomed by the BBC, with a spokesperson expressing a desire to work together to ensure the accuracy of news delivery and maintain trust with viewers.
Source: www.theguardian.com
