Apple to halt AI-generated news alerts after errors
2025-01-17
Category: economic

Apple has suspended a new artificial intelligence (AI) feature that drew criticism and complaints for making repeated mistakes in its summaries of news headlines. The tech giant had been facing mounting pressure to withdraw the service, which sent notifications that appeared to come from within news organisations' apps. "We are working on improvements and will make them available in a future software update," an Apple spokesperson said.The BBC was among the groups to complain, after an alert generated by Apple's AI falsely told some readers that Luigi Mangione, the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, had shot himself.
The feature had also inaccurately summarised headlines from the New York Times and the Washington Post, according to reports from journalists and others on social media. Media outlets and press groups had pushed the company to pull back, warning that the feature was not ready and that AI-generated errors were adding to issues of misinformation and falling trust in news.But Apple had previously promised only a software update that would clarify the role of AI in creating the summaries, which were optional and only available to readers with the latest iPhones. This decision disables the feature entirely for news and entertainment apps."With the latest beta software releases of iOS 18.3, iPadOS 18.3, and macOS Sequoia 15.3, Notification summaries for the News & Entertainment category will be temporarily unavailable," an Apple spokesperson said.The company said that for other apps the AI-generated summaries of app alerts will appear using italicised text."We're pleased that Apple has listened to our concerns and is pausing the summarisation feature for news," a BBC spokesperson said. "We look forward to working with them constructively on next steps. Our priority is the accuracy of the news we deliver to audiences which is essential to building and maintaining trust."Apple had said the feature, which rolled out to users in the UK in December, was intended to make customers' lives more efficient. It groups together and rewrites previews of multiple recent app notifications into a single alert on users' lock screens.The decision comes as the company faces pressure to show its AI developments, which investors had been hoping would drive a new wave of demand for iPhones and other technology.The company's shares fell more than 4% in trading on Thursday after reports sales were struggling in China.  