Apple is disabling its artificial intelligence feature that aggregates and summarizes news notifications, citing criticism from British media outlets over inaccuracies. The company revealed the change in a software update for developers, following an outcry from the BBC and other media organizations.
The issue started in December when the BBC sent readers a notification about Luigi Mangione’s arrest, which was summarized by Apple’s AI feature as “Luigi Mangione shoots himself.” This misrepresentation raised concerns about the accuracy of news reports being delivered to users.
In addition to disabling the summarization feature, Apple will also add a warning for users who opt-in to receive notification summaries for other apps. The warning will inform users that the feature is still in development and may contain errors.
The move comes as Apple’s AI capabilities have faced criticism over several issues. Google recently released a chatbot that recommended eating rocks and using glue to make pizza, while Microsoft postponed A.I.-powered features due to security vulnerabilities.
Industry experts say that the technology’s near-term potential has been questioned by some on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley. “It’s hard, and it’s early, and there’s not a clear value proposition yet for mainstream consumers,” said Ben Bajarin, CEO of Creative Strategies.
Despite these challenges, Apple continues to invest in A.I. research and development. The company plans to improve summaries of notifications for news and entertainment apps and make the feature available again in a future software update.
Apple was initially slow to enter the AI arms race but has since introduced several features, including an A.I.-powered writing assistant on some iPhone models. However, its lack of availability in certain markets, such as China, has weakened demand for its devices.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/16/technology/apple-ai-news-notifications.html