Is the internal nickname for Apple's AI team a bit harsh?

Apple was slow off the mark when it came to developing its AI. Samsung and Google both launched machine learning tools before it. When the Cupertino giant did finally enter the fray last year, it tried to make out that it was reinventing the wheel, calling it 'Apple Intelligence' of all things.

Alas, said intelligence was soon called into question on multiple fronts, with the withdrawal of its news alerts particularly embarrassing. More recently, Apple decided to push back the next round of Siri AI enhancements until next year. So perhaps it's not surprising that the ream involved is being mocked even at Apple itself.

Officially, Apple's AI and machine-learning group is abbreviated as AI/ML. But, according to The Information, Apple employees elsewhere in the company have a different name for it: 'AIMLess'.

Some former employees have criticised Apple's tardy entry into the AI race, suggesting that the delay was a result of the leadership style at AIMLess (sorry, I mean AI/ML). Apple recently removed AI boss John Giannandrea from the Siri AI project and replaced him with head of software engineering Craig Federighi, who's said to have a brisker, more demanding style.

Apparently, there was animosity between software and the Siri group for some time. This is said to have come to a head when even the release of OpenAI's ChatGPT in 2022 failed to ignite a sense of urgency among the latter. Federighi's own team began exploring large language model use cases for iPhone in the meantime.

I'm not sure if the mockery may be a bit harsh, though. To be fair, a lot of AI has felt aimless over the past couple of years, like the tech giants have been struggling to find genuinely useful applications for it in mainstream use.

I always thought Apple's attitude was intentional: that it was cautiously waiting to let other companies take the risks and make the mistakes while it watched to see how consumers reacted and what they really wanted. Just look at how long it's taken Apple to follow Samsung and Google with a foldable. Even today, the folding iPhone and folding iPad is only a rumour.

If Apple had rushed in like Google, Meta and others, it could well have had a few more brand embarrassments on its hands. Time will tell whether new leadership brings a change in approach. In the meantime, I'm just happy to see that there are already M4 MacBook Air deals about.