Elon Musk threatens to ban Apple devices from his companies if OpenAI is integrated into OS
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Billionaire Elon Musk co-founded OpenAI but had a falling-out with the ChatGPT maker.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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San Francisco – Billionaire Elon Musk said he would ban Apple devices from his companies if OpenAI’s artificial intelligence (AI) software is integrated at the operating system level, calling the tie-up a security risk.
The remarks followed a presentation on June 10 by Apple, when the iPhone maker said customers would have access to OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot through the Siri digital assistant
Apple plans to roll out the capabilities as part of a suite of new AI features later in 2024.
Mr Musk co-founded OpenAI but had a falling-out with the San Francisco-based start-up.
He has voiced concerns about the safety implications of speedy development of generative AI technology, but he is also working on his own competitor to ChatGPT.
“If Apple integrates OpenAI at the OS level, then Apple devices will be banned at my companies,” Mr Musk wrote on X, the social network that he owns. “That is an unacceptable security violation.”
Mr Musk runs Tesla and Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX. He also has his own AI start-up, called xAI, with a chatbot named Grok.
“Visitors will have to check their Apple devices at the door, where they will be stored in a Faraday cage,” he added, referring to a device that blocks electromagnetic fields. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
During Apple’s presentation, the company said “ChatGPT integration” will be coming to its operating systems for the iPhone, iPad and Mac computers later in 2024. But it also said user data would not be tracked and there would be other precautions.
“Privacy protections are built in when accessing ChatGPT within Siri,” Apple said in a statement announcing the feature. “Requests are not stored by OpenAI, and users’ IP addresses are obscured.”
Mr Musk continued to take digs at Apple on June 10, saying the company could not make its own AI and had “no clue what’s actually going on once they hand your data over to OpenAI”. BLOOMBERG
