Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not even remotely close to replacing humans. Apple learned this lesson the hard way after a flaw in one of its most recent features began to spread fake news, forcing the tech giant to shut down its AI for good.
Apple is considered a leading technology company. Its products and services are usually at the forefront in almost every department. From software to hardware, the American giant prides itself on offering only the best to its users. Therefore, no one expected such a basic error in one of its products.
As part of its efforts to implement AI in all its gadgets, the company began testing a model called Apple Intelligence. Among its functions, this feature was to create news and entertainment summaries for the user; however, a glaring mistake set off all the alarms in Cupertino.
With #AppleIntelligence in iOS 18.1 and iPadOS 18.1, multiple notifications from a single app can appear as a summary to help you understand them at a glance.
Here’s how to customize your notification summaries. pic.twitter.com/MoAZtfeUkl
? Apple Support (@AppleSupport) January 16, 2025
Mangione did what?
In a summary sent to Beta users, Apple Intelligence claimed, “Luigi Mangione shoots himself,” referring to the alleged killer of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Mangione is being held in a federal prison in Brooklyn, New York, awaiting trial.
The rest of the summary read, “Syrian mother hopes Assad pays the price; South Korea police raid Yoon Seok Yeol’s office.” Both stories were accurate, but the first message forced Apple to turn off the new feature that was scheduled for release at an unspecified date.
Apple Intelligence attributed the summary to BBC News. A representative from the British network contacted Apple as soon as it became aware of the error “to raise this concern and fix the problem.”
In iOS 18.3 Beta 3, notifications summarized by Apple Intelligence will be italicized to stand out from regular ones. pic.twitter.com/271l1pGQfp
? Beta Profiles (@BetaProfiles) January 16, 2025
Goodbye Apple Intelligence… for now
This is not the first time Apple Intelligence has made such a mistake. On another occasion, the AI sent a notification that said, “Netanyahu arrested,” referring to the Israeli Prime Minister. The AI attributed this fake news to the New York Times, which also had to go to Apple to correct the error.
Since the company turned off the feature, users who were testing it receive a message that says “temporarily unavailable” in the app menu of their phones. Apple assured that it is working on a patch for the application and will release it when it is ready, without indicating a specific date.