gatorguy
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Apple admits to using Google Tensor hardware to train Apple Intelligence
If Google permitted Apple to buy their TPU hardware it would be a first. They've been very protective of it, and allowing a potential competitor to pick it apart to better understand how Google arrived at the chip design seems unlikely.Hreb said:What's more likely is that Apple bought the hardware outright from the company, and used it within its own data centers.Is there any source for this claim? Wall street has been asking Google to sell TPU hardware basically forever but as far as anyone knows it's never happened.
EDIT: Apple seems to have more than a passing interest in using Google Tensor hardware for their intelligence features.
"Apple's engineers said in the paper it would be possible to make even larger, more sophisticated models with Google's chips, than the two models it discussed in the paper"
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Apple Intelligence features will probably wait until iOS 18.1
According to some-who-supposedly-know, the upcoming "Apple Intelligence" features will be default opt-in. The customer will have to actively opt-out if they don't want them. Other sources are claiming just the opposite, and one I read shows some are and some aren't. We'll know what the actuality is when they ship.mpantone said:
Indeed opt-in is the right way which is unsurprising from Apple given their strong emphasis on privacy and security. The customer must opt-in. By default, the functionality is *NOT* enabled. This is pretty much the same with all Apple OS initial configurations. You need to deliberately turn on the services.gatorguy said:
What I've noticed is with many iOS updates there are changes in privacy and data collection settings with some services, and the default is sometimes opt-in. I will not be shocked if that's what happens with some of the upcoming Apple services. You will be opted in unless you actively choose otherwise. Just be aware, which AppleInsider is generally pretty good about mentioning to us.mpantone said:
That's a pretty silly reason to stop upgrading.dutchlord said:Time to stop upgrading to any new version. I don’t want AI or AI service providers on my device.
Apple allows you to turn off practically every feature. Don't want to use cellular data? No problem. Don't want notifications? No problem. Don't want Location Services? No problem.
Heck, you are free to not use the camera. You are free to not use the calendar. You are free to not use Bluetooth, Apple Cash, Face ID, whatever. If you want, you can put it in Airplane Mode and just use it as an iPod touch. Heck, you are free to not even turn it on and just use it as a fine paperweight.
However at some point in the not too distant future, Apple will stop providing security patches for whatever version of iOS you are running. That alone makes upgrading a consideration if you use your device at all to connect to the Internet.
Best of luck.
Heck, even network connectivity is an opt-in. If you don't want to configure a network connection you are free to stay offline very easily for Macs, iPhones, and iPads from the initial setup (the "I don't have Internet" selection).
This means the average Joe can have a relatively secure offline device with minimal services without even reading AppleInsider (or any other Apple media site). Again, this all is made easy by Apple's heavy privacy and security emphasis.
Hell, Apple doesn't even force updates down users' throats. Remember that you need to accept the TOS for major upgrade. If you decline, your device will stay at the same software level. Remember that automatic OS updates can also be disabled in the settings. These days, I won't upgrade the OS until the week before Apple WWDC, nearly nine months after the major version is released. And I still must upgrade manually.
EDIT: This is one such article reporting on it:
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/06/report-new-apple-intelligence-ai-features-will-be-opt-in-by-default/
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Apple reaches agreement with unionized Maryland Apple Store workers
Wrong.red oak said:They will be last to receive any new benefits or pay enhancements Apple Retail unilaterally rolls out to all the stores
They will now need to transactionally ask and negotiate for every-single-thing
They think they “won”
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iPhone 17 again said to kill off plus size in favor of iPhone slim
The specs and design of that phone, assuming it exists, and all signs point to it being real, are already set in stone. So are the iPhone 18 models for the most part. Apple, along with other phone designers and engineers, are working two years out and more. Whatever is coming next year, the 17 series, is already a done deal.DAalseth said:WTH is going on?
This is 2024. The iPhone 16 is coming out in about two months. Yet not just AI but every site is filled with articles about the iPhone 17, due out over a year from now. It’s like the whole press corps has forgotten that a really good phone is coming out in September. Forgotten that some of us are in the market for a new phone THIS YEAR and would like to get some info on what they will look like. And that’s not even mentioning that rumours about something coming out a year from now are written on tissue paper in a rainstorm. Historically rumours a year out are wildly inaccurate.
I do like getting clues about what's coming after the 16's. I don't have any interest in this upcoming model line, since anything of significance in AI features won't come until next year anyway, and maybe even later. One of those iPhone 17's might be enough to get me to upgrade my current iPhone 11. This year's 16's aren't much of an upgrade over the already discounted 15's which are not a major step up from the 14's as far as I see it.
IMO It would be as unwise to buy an iPhone 16 as buying, for instance, a Pixel 9, if knowing that the big changes and upgrades in both lines won't come until 2025. That's a good reason to begin having discussions about the iPhone 17.
My 2 cents. -
Child safety watchdog accuses Apple of hiding real CSAM figures
foregoneconclusion said:
So the steps are:AppleInsider said: Apple abandoned its plans for Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) detection, following allegations that it would ultimately be used for surveillance of all users. The company switched to a set of features it calls Communication Safety, which is what blurs nude photos sent to children.
A. User decides whether or not they want to use iCloud for backup
B. User decides whether or not they agree to Apple's terms of use for iCloud backup
C. User decides which apps have files uploaded to iCloud
D. Per Apple terms of use, files from those apps can be scanned for illegal content
Those steps wouldn't have changed with on-device scanning AND the files scanned wouldn't have changed with on-device scanning. The "controversy" surrounding that method was always inane. There was no change in level of surveillance at all. The user always had complete control over what would be subject to scanning.iCloud?
From a related article:
"Almost all cloud services routinely scan for the digital fingerprints of known CSAM materials in customer uploads, but Apple does not.
The company cites privacy as the reason for this, and back in 2021 announced plans for a privacy-respecting system for on-device scanning. However, these leaked ahead of time, and fallout over the potential for abuse by repressive governments.. led to the company first postponing and then abandoning plans for this.
As we’ve noted at the time, an attempt to strike a balance between privacy and public responsibility ended up badly backfiring.
If Apple had instead simply carried out the same routine scanning of uploads used by other companies, there would probably have been little to no fuss. But doing so now would again turn the issue into headline news. The company really is stuck in a no-win situation here."
