Title: Apple to Temporarily Disable a Crucial iPhone Function in Upcoming Update
The latest feature in Apple's Intelligence suite on the iPhone, notification summaries, has been causing some stir among news organizations due to its inaccuracies. As a time-saver, it condenses lengthy email threads or news stories into digestible chunks, but it's still in beta mode, and the errors it's been making have been a point of concern.
Take the BBC, for instance. Known for its impeccable impartiality and accuracy, the corporation was rather unhappy when the notification summaries for apps like BBC News and BBC Sport started spewing false information. Mistakes like claiming a darts player had won a championship before playing in it, a tennis player's mix-up, and incorrectly stating that the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson had taken his own life were not sitting well with the organization.
Historically, when the BBC makes a slip-up, it becomes a 'national scandal' in the UK. So, it wasn't surprising that they reached out to Apple and expressed their displeasure.
Apple's response was to temporarily put a halt on the feature for the News & Entertainment category with the upcoming iOS 18.3 software release. An Apple spokesperson stated, "With the latest beta software releases of iOS 18.3, iPadOS 18.3, and macOS Sequoia 15.3, Notification summaries for the News & Entertainment category will be temporarily unavailable. We are working on improvements and will make them available in a future software update."
The BBC was quick to commend the move. "We're pleased that Apple has listened to our concerns and is pausing the summarisation feature for news," said a BBC spokesperson. "We look forward to working with them constructively on next steps. Our priority is the accuracy of the news we deliver to audiences which is essential to building and maintaining trust."
The temporary suspension of this iPhone feature is expected with the release of iOS 18.3, which is currently in developer and public beta.
As for the enrichment data, Apple is undertaking several improvements to combat the inaccuracies. These include temporarily disabling AI-generated summaries, differentiating them via italicized text on the Lock Screen, and providing users with more control to disable summaries for individual apps. Apple also plans to enhance the AI technology to minimize future errors.
- The BBC expressed their concern to Apple about the inaccuracies in the notification summaries for their apps like BBC News and BBC Sport on the iPhone, which is an integral part of Apple's Intelligence suite.
- Apple has announced that they will temporarily halt the notification summaries feature for the News & Entertainment category with the upcoming iOS 18.3 software release, in response to the BBC's complaints.
- In addition to temporarily pausing the feature, Apple is also working on several improvements to combat the inaccuracies in the enrichment data. This includes disabling AI-generated summaries, differentiating them with italicized text on the Lock Screen, and giving users more control to disable summaries for individual apps.
- The apple spokesperson also mentioned that they are planning to enhance the AI technology to minimize future errors and ensure the accuracy of the iPhone's notification summaries feature.