AI problems outsourced? Motion at Apple's shareholders' meeting

Apple's high expectations of itself end with collaborations, criticizes a non-profit organization in the USA. This currently applies to the topic of AI.

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2 min. read

A non-profit organization in the US wants Apple to hold an action meeting to demand that the iPhone manufacturer provides detailed information about its data collection for its artificial intelligence and the underlying ethical guidelines. However, the proposal by the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC), which has been submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), appears to have little chance of success. Apple itself recommends that shareholders reject the proposal. Apple Intelligence has been introduced gradually since iOS 18.1.

The NLPC wants Apple to explain where it acquires external data for its AI training and how exactly it uses it. Specifically, the NLPC is urging an investigation into possible risks associated with the use of improperly collected training data. Apple should clarify what data protection precautions were taken during AI development and what measures are used to comply with legal and ethical standards.

The long-standing collaboration with Google's parent company Alphabet, which involves Apple setting Google as the default search engine on its devices, is cited as a cause for concern. Google allegedly transfers 25 billion US dollars per year to Apple for this. The NLPC claims that this allows Google to collect large amounts of data about Apple users and that Apple is indirectly profiting from this. There are similar fears regarding the collaboration with ChatGPT developer OpenAI in Apple Intelligence and, in the future, a collaboration with Facebook parent company Meta , which has been briefly discussed in the rumor mill in the meantime.

Apple itself advertises its Apple Intelligence with a very user- and data protection-friendly approach that differs from other AI models. Apple repeatedly emphasizes that a lot of AI data is processed locally on the device. If data does need to be transferred to the cloud, the company makes sure that only the bare minimum is transferred and that it is as anonymized as possible. Apple also goes to great lengths with its cloud servers. Under the name "Private Cloud Compute", these are to dispense with long-term memory.

Apple's shareholders' meeting will take place on February 25, 2025 in Cupertino at the company's headquarters.

(mki)

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This article was originally published in German. It was translated with technical assistance and editorially reviewed before publication.