Apple is under fire after its AI-powered notification summary feature generated a false headline about a high-profile murder case. Paris-based journalist group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has called for the company to disable the feature, which was introduced globally in the iOS 18.2 update last week.
The controversy began when the notification system attributed a false headline to BBC News, claiming murder suspect Luigi Mangione had shot himself. In reality, Mangione remains under maximum security in a Pennsylvania prison, charged with the murder of healthcare executive Brian Thompson. The BBC has filed a complaint with Apple regarding this incident, and RSF criticised the technology as unreliable for public information.
Vincent Berthier, RSF’s technology and journalism head, said that “AIs are probability machines, and facts can’t be decided by a roll of the dice.” He called the automated production of false information “a danger to the public’s right to reliable information.”
This issue isn’t isolated. The New York Times also encountered a similar mishap when Apple’s AI incorrectly summarised an article about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, claiming he had been arrested. The original article discussed an International Criminal Court warrant, not a direct arrest.
Apple’s notification summaries aim to reduce alert fatigue by condensing information into brief summaries. Available on the latest iPhones, iPads, and Macs, the feature is enabled by default but can be manually turned off in settings. Critics argue these incidents highlight the risks of generative AI in handling sensitive information.
These new iPhone AI notification summaries might need a little work pic.twitter.com/z1rbHp0XeA
— The Dark Knight (@CityJohn) December 15, 2024
apple intelligence notification summaries need to chill.
my ring doorbell detected 5-10 people at the door over the course of the day and the apple summary got me thinking there was an angry mob outside my house pic.twitter.com/OJkY7URWlH
— Nick “Lindy”quist (@nick_lindquist) December 10, 2024
Introduced as part of its Apple Intelligence suite, Apple’s AI-powered notification summaries aim to reduce notification overload by condensing information into shorter, bite-sized descriptions. During testing, the feature received mixed impressions, with some testers sharing screenshots of amusing yet occasionally insensitive summaries. However, incidents like the recent false headlines underscore the potential dangers of overreliance on AI, particularly in the absence of regulation.
Apple’s notification summary feature is available through iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and the latest version of MacOS 15 Sequoia. It is enabled by default, but can be manually disabled in the device’s Settings app.
(Source: BBC / Tom’s Hardware)
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