December 10, 2024 – In a recent interview with WIRED, John Giannandrea, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence Strategy, expressed a viewpoint that stands in contrast to many other AI companies regarding Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). Giannandrea stated that Apple is not interested in pursuing AGI, as the goal appears unrealistic and somewhat imprudent to the company.
According to Giannandrea, unlike many of its competitors, Apple does not share the enthusiasm for developing AGI. He described such a pursuit as unrealistic, bordering on recklessness. “The most credible researchers in the field believe that there are still many unsolved problems and breakthroughs needed to achieve it,” Giannandrea said, adding, “The idea that you can scale these technologies to achieve AGI is very naive.”
Giannandrea explained that while Apple may contribute to significant breakthroughs, its focus is not on initiating a technological singularity, but rather on enhancing its products. He revealed that the company has more engineers engaged in “investigative research” than those working on products slated for release in the near future, referring to its fundamental research efforts.
In other words, Giannandrea did not rule out Apple’s involvement in AGI-related advancements, but emphasized that the company’s ultimate goal is not AGI itself, but rather user-oriented products that improve people’s lives. The AI leader at Apple dismissed some of the common optimism surrounding AGI as “very naive.”
