By Samuel Chung, Korean Journal, ten@tenspace.co.kr
On June 10, Apple unveiled a range of new products and services centered around artificial intelligence (AI) at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), presenting a bold vision for leading the next wave of IT innovation. The event, held at Apple Park, commenced with a keynote address by CEO Tim Cook, drawing the attention of developers and media worldwide.
“We aim to transform AI technology into everyday innovation, not just a tool,” stated Cook. “By leveraging Apple’s unique, human-centric approach, we will maximize AI’s potential.” This statement underscores Apple’s commitment to securing new competitive advantages amid the rapid paradigm shift in the IT industry driven by advancements in AI technologies like ChatGPT.
The highlight of this year’s WWDC was ‘Apple Intelligence,’ an AI platform integrated across all Apple devices. This platform processes user data on-device, ensuring privacy while delivering an enhanced user experience.
Siri, the voice assistant, will become more intelligent with the integration of OpenAI’s GPT engine. It will understand context, learn personal preferences to offer customized services, and even recognize emotions for empathetic interactions. Additionally, on the iPhone lock screen, Siri’s animated avatar, ‘Geni’ will act as a personal assistant, providing various information.
AI features to boost productivity have also been significantly enhanced. The ‘Intelligent Compose’ assistant helps with writing emails and documents by suggesting context-appropriate words and optimized sentence structures. The ‘Intelligent Organizer’ automatically manages schedules and priorities, while ‘Smart Recall’ organizes meeting notes and to-do lists efficiently.
Apple also introduced AI technologies that revolutionize visual experiences. The camera app now includes real-time object recognition and auto-correction, enabling users to take professional-grade photos effortlessly. The ‘Genmoji’ feature learns the user’s facial characteristics to create personalized avatar emojis, supporting the creation of entertaining videos.
These innovations are expected to synergize with Apple’s ambitious next-generation AR headset, ‘Apple Vision Pro,’ which operates on visionOS 2 and features hand gesture controls. Apple also unveiled numerous APIs and development tools for Vision Pro, emphasizing the expansion of its developer ecosystem.
AI was also a key theme in updates to iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia. AI technologies were applied across various domains, including personalized recommendations, voice control, and visual recognition, focusing on delivering a seamless user experience.
Experts believe that WWDC 2024 has set a new standard for AI technology in the IT industry. Apple’s integrated approach, combining user-friendly yet innovative AI services, is seen as a distinctive strength.
However, concerns about data collection and privacy invasion have also been raised. Apple reassured that “privacy protection is a core value” and that its AI technologies are designed with privacy-first principles. Users will have control over their data through on-device processing, anonymization, and selective feature usage.
In summary, WWDC 2024 can be interpreted as Apple’s declaration to lead the future IT paradigm with an ‘AI-first’ strategy. By integrating AI with its existing innovation DNA, Apple plans to build a new ecosystem that maximizes user value. The IT industry and consumers are closely watching Apple’s moves, anticipating the dawn of a new AI era.
