Apple Intelligence in China: from the middle of the year and with censorship
Alibaba will become Apple's LLM supplier in China, that much is known. But according to the media, it won't stop there.
Apple Intelligence logo and icon: China is different from the West.
(Image: Apple)
How will Apple implement its China AI on the iPhone? It is already clear that the large Hangzhou-based network company Alibaba Group will be the central partner, as its chairman announced this week. However, this is apparently not the end of the story. According to a report by the financial news agency Bloomberg, Apple is also relying at least on its own language model and presumably also on technology from Baidu. The iPhone manufacturer will adhere to local laws with the Chinese version of Apple Intelligence. This means that the system will be censored.
OpenAI must not be a partner
Apple has assigned "several teams" to its Chinese AI system, which are active in both China and the USA. The target is apparently to launch as early as May. The regulatory hurdles have reportedly not yet been fully overcome. Beijing requires Western companies to use local large language models (LLMs). OpenAI with ChatGPT is banned in the country, which is Apple's partner in the US and soon Europe.
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According to Bloomberg, there will be an "on-device" AI similar to that in the West. In collaboration with Alibaba, a system has been developed that can analyze and "change" Apple's own AI models. AI output is therefore automatically filtered and censored in order to comply with government requirements of the communist regime in Beijing – Unfortunately, this is not new behavior for Apple. According to Bloomberg, Baidu is the "second partner" in China and will contribute "some functions". What this means for data transfer remains unclear. The iCloud in China is already a separate system that is isolated from the West and managed by a government-affiliated partner in its own data centers.
No information from Apple itself
Apple has not yet publicly commented on its China AI – The confirmation by Alibaba Chairman Joe Tsai is considered unusual. He had emphasized how tough the selection process had been before the Alibaba model Qwen was allowed onto the iPhone. Baidu could help Apple with search queries, among other things. The provider is regarded as China's Google. In the West, the Californian search giant is used for visual intelligence on the iPhone, among other things, and is a paying search partner.
Baidu is the default setting in the Safari browser in China, but it is unclear what it pays Apple for this. Alibaba is primarily known for its e-commerce platforms, but also offers cloud services and numerous other internet services for Chinese and foreign customers. Apple urgently needs new AI functions to boost local iPhone sales, as these are in high demand from customers in China.
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