Tim Cook: Apple Must Invest Heavily in AI, Despite Siri Delays

Apple CEO Tim Cook recently convened a rare all-hands meeting with staff, where he articulated a highly optimistic vision for the company’s future in artificial intelligence. During the gathering at Apple’s Cupertino campus auditorium on Friday, Cook reportedly told employees that the AI revolution is “as big or bigger” than transformative technological shifts like the internet, smartphones, cloud computing, and apps.

According to sources cited by Bloomberg, Cook emphasized Apple’s imperative to lead in this new era, stating, “Apple must do this. Apple will do this. This is sort of ours to grab. We will make the investment to do it.” He drew a parallel to Apple’s historical strategy, noting that the company has rarely been the first to market in categories such as personal computers, smartphones, tablets, or MP3 players, but ultimately delivered the “modern” and definitive versions of these products. Cook conveyed a similar sentiment regarding AI, indicating Apple’s intent to define its future.

The meeting also featured insights from Apple’s software chief, Craig Federighi, who addressed the previously reported delay of a planned AI-powered upgrade to Siri. Federighi explained that the company initially pursued a “hybrid architecture” for Siri, intending one system to handle existing functionalities and another to be powered by large language models (LLMs). However, this approach was deemed insufficient to meet Apple’s stringent quality standards. Consequently, the new strategy involves migrating the entire system to a unified, new architecture.

Cook’s strong remarks on AI follow his comments made prior to a recent earnings call, where he indicated Apple’s openness to strategic acquisitions to accelerate its AI development roadmap. The company has also reportedly experienced some loss of AI talent, with engineers being recruited as part of Meta’s “superintelligence” hiring initiatives. These developments underscore Apple’s intensified focus and investment in the rapidly evolving field of artificial intelligence.