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I was curious about what the soothsayers had to say about the management changes at the top of the Apple empire. In particular, I was interested in any associated comments about the failing grade that Apple gets for their Artificial Intelligence or is it Apple Intelligence. I’ve heard it referred to as Apple Ignorance.

One commentator I had never listened to before had an interesting take on the situation. He suggested that Apple had fallen so far behind that it gave up entering the AI race as defined by the big tech companies. It chose another race that had few obvious competitors. Apple is choosing to step to a different drummer.

Most, if not all, AI departments within big tech are losing money. Their hope is that these losses are a ramp to making big money. The cost structures for AI seem to be evolving into two tiers. One is very costly and paid for on a per-use basis. Think military or drug research companies.

The other tier is ad-supported or perhaps through a small monthly subscription. I use AI regularly, but I’ve never paid for it. Sometimes I get to ask my limited follow-up question, and I need more follow-up searches. I just wait for the 24-hour restriction and continue with my follow-ups.

Apple designs its own chips. They tout the security and privacy of doing powerful AI on their devices.  Buy their chip once, and the work AI does is free. You paid the price when you bought their chip.

For the lower tier, the average user isn’t a power user. Individuals versus a large drug company want information on their phones and in their surroundings, coordinated to make life easier. For example, I have my Reminders app set, so when I’m near my local bakery, it reminds me I wanted to buy my favourite buns for the BBQ on the weekend.

When I was in my teens, being a physically strong man was a goal of most of my male friends. Talk about signing up to be a loser. I’d remind myself of how hopeless that race to the top was for me. My thumb and index finger could circle my wrist with lots of room to spare.

I didn’t have the language or imagery to capture what I consciously decided. I think it was during a gym class, climbing ropes. I could climb as high as I could jump and grab the rope.

I decided that being a good person was the better option. No toxic masculinity for me. I also knew that the goal was a journey, not a destination. Occasional failure was inevitable, but I would learn, make reasonable amends, forgive myself, and move on. It was surprising how often a similar opportunity to fail would present itself, and I improved my thoughts and behaviour the second time. 

Please give this a bit of a think. Can you think of a situation in which retreat was the best option? Or did you choose to change drummers?

Please comment: Send me an email with your bit of a think. I am curious about your thoughts.

Photo by AI Request. It was free by the way: An image to capture the visual of the expression ‘marching to a different drummer’.

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