Artificial intelligence continues to cause concerns for many people, from fears of job losses to the death of the internet due to false information hallucinated by AI bots. But it's starting to look like the biggest threat to the reputation of the new tech is not AI itself but the rushed implementation by the big tech incumbents.
Google, Microsoft, Meta and now Apple have been tripping over themselves in a frenzy to launch AI-driven products that show they're at the vanguard. The latter's suspension of its disastrous AI notification summaries are the latest example of a botched headline feature.
There was a time when big brands wouldn't risk launching a product without thoroughly testing it both conceptually (to confirm people actually wanted it) and technically (to check it worked). That started to change with the instant feedback and more rapid iteration made possible by digitization. Companies can now test apps live in beta and roll out updates as they see how users interact with them. Even hardware can be shipped with flaws that can be fixed via firmware updates.
But developments in AI have taken this to a new extreme, with the big tech companies happy to risk a reputation hit in the process. About a year ago, Google briefly suspended the generation of human figures via its Gemini AI image generator due to diversity issues. More recently Microsoft suspended the launch of its Recall AI tool due to security concerns.
Apple had been treading more cautiously until it finally started rolling out Apple Intelligence late last year. Now, in rare U-turn, it's suspending AI summary notifications for news and entertainment apps due to a problem with glaringly inaccuracies that should surely have been detected before launch. Examples cited in a BBC complaint include Apple Intelligence falsely stating that Luigi Mangione had shot himself and that Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been arrested.
All the big tech incumbents are now convinced that AI is the future. Microsoft has even just rebranded Microsoft 365 (Office) as Copilot 365, taking the name of its AI bot. But if they keep releasing that aren't ready, there's a risk that consumers and investors will decide AI is a useless and unreliable gimmick.
