A Apple , a technology giant, has its guns trained on Microsoft when it comes to Artificial Intelligence (AI), taking advantage of Microsoft's recent retreat with the Recall functionality of Windows 11 for Copilot+ PCs.
You've probably heard that Microsoft has been going through a turbulent time with the Recall feature since its announcement. This feature, which takes regular screenshots of activity on your PC to create a searchable timeline using AI, is undoubtedly powerful, but it has raised a number of security and privacy concerns. So much so that Microsoft removed the Recall functionality from the launch of Copilot+ PCs and put it back into the testing phase.
In a video from WWDC 24, an Apple executive spared no criticism when the subject of Windows 11's Recall functionality came up. John Gruber, a well-known Apple commentator, asked whether Microsoft's mistakes with the first version of Recall are frustrating for Apple as it tries to build trust in its own AI product, Apple Intelligence.
Greg 'Joz' Joswiak, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, responded promptly: "Are we pressured by the failures of our competitors?" The answer was a resounding “no”, which caused laughter in the audience.
It's no surprise that Apple would take this opportunity to attack Microsoft, which has let its guard down in terms of AI ambitions. Microsoft's mistake with its main AI feature for Copilot+ PCs – Recall – is embarrassing. However, it is commendable that Microsoft has acknowledged these errors and is trying to correct them.
Gruber raises an important point about how this could be damaging to public trust in all manifestations of AI, even though Joswiak has completely deflected this concern.
Fortunately for Apple, the company has clearly established its stance on security and privacy with Apple Intelligence. This includes keeping as much processing as possible on the device for AI workloads, and for tasks that need more capacity and are sent online, these go to custom Apple servers with a hardened operating system, the content of which not even the company itself can see.
AI is arriving and we don't see this giant losing momentum. If Apple is positioned as the trustworthy company, the one that doesn't play with your data, that will be a very comfortable position to occupy among the technology giants. Microsoft has a long way to go to regain lost trust, but I believe that, with proper correction of errors, it can once again be a strong competitor in the field of AI.
