Major companies like Apple and Google have entered the field of Generative AI (Generative AI is artificial intelligence technology, which can generate different types of content including text, images, audio and synthetic data). Both Apple and Google have started to market products with AI features in smartphones. This means that we can probably do a lot of things with the help of our mobile phone and it will make a lot of our work easier. Of course, while this is true, it also comes with some risks.
What can your mobile phone do with AI features?
On June 10, Apple unveiled ‘Apple Intelligence’. Apple Intelligence is an artificial intelligence platform developed by Apple Inc. Apple Intelligence will be available on iPhones, iPads and Macs with generative AI features. With the help of this new technology, you as a user can transcribe recorded calls, write emails and summarize notes, erase objects from images, create custom pictures, animations and emoticons. In September last year, Google unveiled a similar feature, which also included live transcription of audio recordings. Samsung is also in this arena. The Korean electronics firm has begun incorporating native AI models running on its flagship devices into products to process audio recordings and phone calls, as well as summarize webpages.
Do all these features work locally?
Not all features work locally. Apple explained that Siri, its on-device digital assistant, can process and answer basic questions on your device, while broader questions require OpenAI’s ChatGPT’s GPT-4o AI multimodel. Google’s Pixel phones rely on an internet connection for large AI models hosted on cloud servers for many of their features. Samsung is also going the same way. The Samsung company offers a setting where users can choose to use only local AI features for example, transcribing voice notes live or using an on-cloud AI model to get a summary of recorded voice notes.
Will generative AI feature on all phones soon?
Apple’s AI features are currently only available in its ‘Pro’ iPhones. All of Google’s new mobile phones are supportive of its AI chops. Samsung only has AI in its flagship Galaxy S24 series, but it could expand to new devices next month. It all depends on the processor of your mobile phone. Currently, only Qualcomm and MediaTek’s flagship processors retain AI processing capabilities.
What exactly is the real concern?
But more importantly, experts have raised concerns about data privacy. No assurance can be given as to how secure any personal data of users may be. Apple claims that no personal ‘contextual data’ will be transferred online and privacy will be maintained on OpenAI’s servers. Google and Samsung claim that they do not collect any sensitive information from smartphones, but they do capture ‘anonymous metadata’. But the audit in this regard is yet to be done.
Is privacy the only concern?
AI is prone to misinformation, while native AI models may not understand the full context due to limited availability of language-specific data, so the information or text and images provided by them may be significantly different or even incorrect at times. Local AI models do not require internet. But without the Internet, users can experience a black box-like experience of making wrong or contextless decisions. Likewise, privacy will be a major concern. That’s why most companies have entered the market with safety-assisting AIs with basic features, and while these AI models have utility value, they also have limitations.
