Apple’s AI tool is under fire for spreading false news, including a claim about Pete Hegseth being fired, raising concerns about accuracy.
On Wednesday, the alerts not only said Hegseth was fired but also incorrectly stated that President-elect Donald Trump’s tariffs were affecting inflation. It even claimed that nominees Marco Rubio and Pam Bondi were confirmed, which was totally off base.
Geoffrey Fowler from the Washington Post called out Apple for these blunders. He pointed out that the AI summary got every fact wrong and said it was “wildly irresponsible” for Apple to keep these summaries running without fixing the issues.
This AI feature launched last fall and was supposed to be a big deal for Apple, especially with new iPhones coming out. But it seems like they’ve got some serious work to do.
Apple hasn’t responded to requests for comments yet. Fowler mentioned that news organizations have been complaining to Apple about these inaccuracies, but they feel powerless to change how iOS handles their alerts.
Other news outlets have also criticized Apple for spreading false information. Just last month, the BBC reached out to Apple after their AI claimed a suspect in a murder had shot himself, which wasn’t true.
In November, a ProPublica editor shared a screenshot where Apple’s AI falsely claimed that the New York Times reported Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu was arrested.
Apple did say they’re working on updates to fix these bugs and improve the news summary feature. They mentioned that the AI features are still in beta and they’re making changes based on user feedback.
It’s not just Apple facing this kind of backlash. Google also got slammed last year for its AI giving out some bizarre answers in search results. It’s clear that the tech world has some serious challenges ahead with AI accuracy.
