Apple Plans to Improve AI Notifications for Clarity

The BBC has reported that Apple is set to modify how notifications summarized by Apple Intelligence are displayed on iPhones and other devices. This change aims to make it easier for users to understand when the AI has altered the original wording. This feature, which is still in beta, was introduced in the UK in December. Shortly after its release, the BBC raised concerns regarding a misleading summary of a headline about a shooting suspect associated with UnitedHealthcare, which inaccurately implied that the BBC had stated Luigi Mangione shot himself.

Since that incident, there have been additional inaccuracies in Apple's AI-generated summaries. For instance, Apple’s summaries erroneously named the winner of a darts championship before the event occurred and falsely claimed that tennis player Rafael Nadal publicly identified as gay. The BBC stated that these AI-generated summaries do not align with the original content and sometimes entirely contradict it.

In response to these concerns, Apple issued a statement saying, “A software update in the coming weeks will further clarify when the text being displayed is summarization provided by Apple Intelligence.”

While the AI feature has produced some amusing misinterpretations, such as misinterpreting a message about a hiking experience as one about suicide, the failures highlight a need for clearer communication.

Apple informed the BBC that users have the option to receive these summaries. If individuals prefer not to use this feature, they can disable it or choose which apps to include by navigating to Settings > Notifications > Summarize Notifications.

Apple, AI, BBC