Apple is under fire for inaccuracies in its AI-generated summaries, a feature introduced with Apple Intelligence on the latest iPhones. Priority Notifications condense multiple notifications from the same app into a single bite-sized alert generated by AI. But the summaries are notoriously unpredictable, often completely misunderstanding the context of messages.
This can be very amusing at times, but in some cases it’s borderline dangerous, essentially reinterpreting breaking news stories into complete falsehoods. The feature has thus far delivered a series of high-profile errors, sparking criticism from journalists, unions, and watchdogs.
Some recent mishaps include an alert falsely claiming the winner of a darts championship event before it had even begun, one another stating that tennis star Rafael Nadal had come out as gay, and even a summary that said Luigi Mangione had shot himself.
Image credit: BBC
The BBC, whose headlines were misrepresented multiple times, has called for urgent action, warning that these errors undermine public trust in news. The National Union of Journalists echoed the sentiment, urging Apple to suspend the feature altogether.
Apple defended the feature as optional and still in beta, with improvements underway. A forthcoming software update will clarify when summaries are AI-generated, and users are encouraged to report inaccuracies.
We’re not sure if an AI tag in the corner of an alert will be enough to counter the damage these incorrect summaries can do. In its half-baked state, the feature is arguably pointless – if you can’t trust the information is correct, is a lock screen summary really saving you any time? Either way, you’ll have to check the full news story or message thread in search of the truth.
It will be interesting to see if Apple responds further as it tries to instill public trust in Apple Intelligence.