Elon Musk Might Ban OpenAI-Enabled Apple Products Over Scarlett ...
“Exactly” That’s what Elon Musk replied today to a post on X that cast doubt on the integrity of OpenAI after its recent voiceover squabble with Scarlett Johansson.
Apple's Partnership with OpenAI
With Apple announcing Monday its dive into AI and a partnership with the once again Sam Altman-led organization that Musk co-founded, it was much more than that – at least for now.
In a series of posts, Musk declared that if the Tim Cook-run tech giant links arms with OpenAI, then all their products will be “banned” from X, Tesla, SpaceX, the Boring Company and any other company Musk owns. Dramatically, he added that it would be “an unacceptable security violation” if “Apple integrates OpenAI at the OS level.”
Apple's AI Strategy
The thing is Apple isn’t getting totally in bed with OpenAI, at least that’s not the way Cook and crew pitched it Monday. Apple has proved a latecomer to the full scope of artificial intelligence, and today the CEO clearly was playing catch-up. To that end, Cook unveiled the sparkling Apple Intelligence as the AI clearinghouse for its devices and cloud services. Within that hierarchy, Apple also is bringing OpenAI and its ChatGPT into the fold with its operating systems.
Yes, for all the talk of privacy protections, the use of ChatGPT on Apple devices will shift over to OpenAI servers. However, with user and profile info kept hidden, the point of the partnership essentially is to answer the questions that Apple Intelligence can’t right now, Cook pledged.
Musk's Allegations and Response
A distinction may have been lost in Musk’s rage-baiting Monday. Musk has gone after OpenAI before. Back in March, the Tesla CEO sued the recently not-so-corporately steady OpenAI and its top executives for breach of contract.
Recent Developments and Challenges
The more recent backstory there is that Musk has his own AI rollout in the market. Last month, the Boring Company boss raised an astonishing $6 billion in a new funding round for xAI. Musk is also facing an inflection point at Tesla with a June 13 shareholder meeting. Tesla shares dipped about 2% in trading on Monday, to close at $173.79.
Apple did not respond to request for comment today on Musk’s postings. If and when they do, this post will be updated.
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