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From Vox
Summary
The rise of AI technologies, such as Apple Intelligence, brings concerns about their environmental impact and energy consumption. Users may feel guilty for using AI due to its significant carbon footprint and resource demands. Despite some companies striving for efficiency, transparency regarding energy use remains lacking. The urgency to address these issues grows as AI becomes more integrated into everyday devices, leaving users with limited choices.
Highlights -📌
- AI Adoption: Apple introduces AI features on iPhones, iPads, and Macs. 📱
- Energy Concerns: AI systems consume vast amounts of energy and water. 💧
- Mainstream Integration: Companies are racing to embed AI into their products. 🏃♂️
- User Guilt: Many feel guilty about the environmental impact of AI. 😔
- Lack of Transparency: Tech giants do not disclose energy consumption details. 🔍
- Efforts for Efficiency: Apple claims some AI processing occurs on-device, reducing reliance on data centers. ⚡
- Call for Accountability: Experts urge for more information and accountability from tech companies. 📢
Apple just put AI in millions of people’s pockets. The company is rolling out what it calls Apple Intelligence this week, bringing some basic text generation and image editing features to iPhone, iPad, and Mac users who opt in. I’ve been testing these tools through the developer beta version of the software for a couple months now, and they’re pretty mediocre. But this is only the beginning.
Generative AI, once a parlor trick for the tech-obsessed, is fast becoming the main event for major software releases. As Apple pushes its version of the technology, Google is building AI into its Android operating system and forcing everyone to look at AI Overviews at the top of virtually every Google Search. OpenAI and Meta are building their own AI-powered search engines, while the startup Perplexity already has one. Microsoft and Anthropic recently announced new, super-powerful AI agents that can complete complex tasks much like humans would. (Disclosure: Vox Media is one of several publishers that has signed partnership agreements with OpenAI. Our reporting remains editorially independent.)
While some companies have had generative AI products out in the wild for over a year, the arrival of Apple Intelligence marks an inflection point for the mainstreaming of the technology. Apple Intelligence is only available on the latest Apple devices, but over half the phones in the United States are iPhones. As people upgrade, millions more can tap into the new technology.
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