Apple suspends error-prone AI-generated news alerts in beta iPhone software

Apple is suspending an error-prone feature that used artificial intelligence to deliver bogus news alerts to some iPhone owners. The beta version is only available to a relatively small group of iPhone users and developers, but the same features are usually released in an update available to all users several weeks after the testing begins

CUPERTINO: Apple is suspending an error-prone feature that used artificial intelligence to deliver bogus news alerts to some iPhone owners. The decision was disclosed as part of a test version for the next software release, iOS 18.3. The beta version is only available to a relatively small group of iPhone users and developers, but the same features are usually released in an update available to all users several weeks after the testing begins.

In the beta update, Apple said it is disabling the AI-generated feature for news and entertainment while it tries to fix the issue causing the technology to fabricate information — a problem often described as “hallucinations” within the industry. Similar software updates for Apple’s iPad and Mac computers are also in a testing phase.

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Even if it is just temporary, the suspension represents a blow to Apple’s efforts to bring AI to the iPhone and its other products. The push began in earnest last September with the debut of the iPhone 16, which is equipped with the computer chip needed for a technology the Cupertino, California, company calls “Apple Intelligence.” The premium iPhone 15 models from 2023 also contain the AI processor.

The BBC was among the media organizations that complained about the balky news summary feature after Apple sent alerts that transformed its reports into false headlines.

In one high-profile mistake last month, the BBC said Apple’s AI-generated summary credited to BBC News falsely alerted that “Luigi Mangione shoots himself” when no such thing had happened involving the man accused of fatally shooting the CEO of UnitedHealthcare.

Google was forced to retool a new version of its search engine last year after AI-generated summaries on top of search results were found to be spitting out erroneous information, including some outlandish answers that caught the attention of social media.