Greetings from Grand Central Station. I'm heading north today to spend some time talking AI with my friends at Spectrum Reach.
In the news: Apple unveiled a suite of AI features aimed at transforming its entire ecosystem. The Apple Intelligence initiative introduces a conversational Siri, custom AI-generated “Genmoji,” and GPT-4o integration. Coming this fall, the new macOS Sequoia and iOS 18 will feature advanced AI functionalities and customizable home screens. Unsurprisingly, these features will only work on late model iPhones (15 Pro and 15 Pro Max) and Macs and iPads with M1 chips and above.
Siri's capabilities now include cross-app actions, notification management, automatic text writing, summarization, and "on-screen awareness" for understanding content across apps. Users can also type to Siri.
Privacy and security are prioritized, with most features operating on-device and complex tasks processed via Apple's “Private Cloud Compute.” Data is never stored on Apple servers, with independent experts verifying privacy measures.
The “Genmoji” feature creates custom emoji-like reactions, while “Image Playground” offers new image generation tools and enhanced object search in the Photos app. GPT-4o via ChatGPT integrates into iOS, macOS, and iPadOS, allowing Siri to handle complex queries with user permission and robust privacy safeguards. ChatGPT supports system-wide AI writing tools and image generation, requiring no account or subscription.
As I have been saying for months, we won't know anything about the future of consumer-facing AI until this announcement. If you take a few minutes to watch the keynote starting here, Apple CEO Tim Cook introduces the fruit company's approach to AI. It will be worth you time.
A few things to consider. 1) Apple does not need to rush. There is no other company with Apple's ecosystem or community. It's more important for them to get this right than to hurry. 2) OpenAI may be a temporary solution. Sam Altman is the current hero of Silicon Valley, but that title passes from exec to exec quite often. Apple has the time (and the money) to create (or purchase) whatever they need to be best in class at AI. 3) This is usually where governments step in and screw things up. If Apple (or any other big tech company) is regulated into breaking up or disassembling components by tech morons, we will have a repeat of the Windows Explorer/Internet Explorer nightmare from which we are still yet to awake.
As always your thoughts and comments are both welcome and encouraged. Just reply to this email. -s
P.S. Heading to Cannes? Join us for the Brand Innovators/Shelly Palmer AI for Brand Marketers Summit hosted by Mastercard on June 17. Request your invitation. That evening, I'm co-hosting the Brand Innovators/Shelly Palmer Opening Night Gala at the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat with a special guest performance by Shaboozey. Request your invitation by replying to this email.
ABOUT SHELLY PALMER
Shelly Palmer is the Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with technology, media and marketing. Named LinkedIn’s “Top Voice in Technology,” he covers tech and business for Good Day New York, is a regular commentator on CNN and writes a popular daily business blog. He's a bestselling author, and the creator of the popular, free online course, Generative AI for Execs. Follow @shellypalmer or visit shellypalmer.com.
