Apple asks to retire AI features after creating false headlines

A leading journalism organization has called for Apple to retire a new generative AI feature after it created misleading headlines about a high-profile murder case in the US.

The BBC has filed a complaint against the US tech giant after Apple Intelligence, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to summarize and group notifications, created a false headline about murder suspect Luigi Mangione. .

The AI-powered summary incorrectly reported that BBC News had published an article claiming that Mangione, who was accused of murdering health insurance CEO Brian Thompson in New York, had committed suicide. He isn’t.

Reporters Without Borders is now calling on Apple to remove this technology. Apple has not commented.

Apple Intelligence launched in the UK last week.

Reporters Without Borders, also known as RSF, said it was “very concerned about the risks that AI tools pose to news organizations.”

The group said the BBC incident proves that “generative AI services are still too young to provide reliable information to the public”.

Vincent Berthier, head of RSF’s technology and journalism desk, added: “AI is a probability machine and facts cannot be determined by the roll of the dice.”

“RSF is calling on Apple to act responsibly by removing this feature. The automatic generation of false information attributed to news organizations damages the credibility of news organizations and It is a danger to the public’s right to reliable information about current events.”

Apple has not commented since the story broke last week.

When the group notice about BBC News came to light, a BBC spokesperson said the company had contacted Apple “to raise this concern and resolve the issue.”

The notice that made false claims about Mangione was accurate except for a summary about the overthrow of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad regime and an update on South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol.

The BBC has not yet confirmed whether Apple has responded to the charges.

Mr. Mangione is currently charged with first-degree murder in Mr. Thompson’s death.

It appears the BBC isn’t the only news publisher whose headlines were reported incorrectly thanks to Apple’s new AI technology.

On November 21st, three New York Times articles were combined into one notice, which in part read “Netanyahu Arrested,” referring to the Israeli Prime Minister.

It was not a report on Prime Minister Netanyahu’s arrest, but rather inaccurately summarized a report on the International Criminal Court’s issuing of an arrest warrant for Prime Minister Netanyahu.

The mistake was pointed out on Blue Sky by Ken Schwenke, a journalist with the US investigative reporting website ProPublica.

Mr Schwenke told BBC News he took a screenshot and confirmed it was genuine. The New York Times declined to comment.

As part of the rollout of Apple Intelligence, Apple is allowing users to group notifications.

Apple said customers may prefer this to reduce interruptions from continuous notifications.

This is only available on certain iPhones, i.e. iPhones using iOS 18.1 system version or later on recent devices (all iPhone 16 phones, 15 Pro, and 15 Pro Max). Also available on select iPads and Macs.

Grouped notifications are marked with a specific icon, and users can report concerns in the notification summary. Apple did not say how many reports it had received.

Apple Intelligence not only summarizes articles from publishers, but it has been reported that summaries of emails and text messages are sometimes off-target.