What just happened? In a recent interview, Apple CEO Tim Cook discussed the company's plans regarding AI and his own future at the company. Cook also defended the Vision Pro headset, which received mixed reviews from the media and a lukewarm response from consumers.
When discussing Apple's recent emphasis on artificial intelligence – despite being a relative laggard in the AI arms race compared to rivals Google and Microsoft – Cook told Wired that the company is focused on nurturing the power of the evolving technology to change people's lives. He added that AI has the potential to offer "extraordinary benefit for humanity," provided there are guardrails in place to prevent it from going rogue.
While AI is the future of technology, Cook suggested that the hoopla about artificial general intelligence (AGI) is somewhat premature, as it is still "a ways away, at a minimum." AGI, for those wondering, refers to full human-level AI software capable of not only programming itself to learn new things but also applying that knowledge to perform tasks it wasn't trained for.
Cook also discussed Apple Intelligence, which is expected to be fully rolled out to compatible iPhone models in the near future. According to the CEO, it will become a fundamental feature in future iPhones, much like multitouch, adding that the company has never considered charging customers for using it.
Cook also weighed in on smartphone addiction, saying that he worries about people doom-scrolling on their devices. He noted that features like Screen Time are designed to help users self-regulate their smartphone usage and stated that the company is adding new parental control features in iPhones to keep kids safe. "If you're looking at your phone more than you're looking in somebody's eyes, that's a problem," Cook said.
Coming to the disappointing sales of the Vision Pro, Cook described it as "an early adopter product, for people who want tomorrow's technology today." He believes it is more of an experimental product for the company to test the AR/VR ecosystem, and isn't necessarily meant for everybody. "I don't know if you're using it very much, but I'm on there all the time. I see new apps all the time," he said.
Wired also asked Cook if the company will ever return to live keynote presentations after switching to pre-recorded shows during Covid. Cook said that he misses the live shows, but hinted that the taped presentations may be here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future. "We wanted to have more people engaged in the announcement ... (and) you can do that a lot more productively on tape than you can live," he said.
Finally, Cook opened up on his retirement plans, saying he will continue to work "until the voice in my head says, 'It's time' and then I'll go and focus on what the next chapter looks like." He added that after more than a quarter of a century at Apple, it will be hard to imagine life without it.