Apple has suspended its AI news alerts feature due to repeated errors and false headlines. This decision comes after numerous reports of inaccuracies in the AI-generated news.
As it stands now, the tech giant is currently investigating the root cause of these AI errors to improve the reliability of its AI news delivery system.
“We are working on improvements and will make them available in a future software update,” an Apple spokesperson remarked.
The BBC was among the news media groups to complain, after an alert generated by Apple’s AI falsely told some readers that Luigi Mangione, the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, had shot himself.
The Apple AI news feature had also falsely summarized headlines from the New York Times and the Washington Post, according to reports from journalists and others on social media.
Media outlets and press groups had pushed the company to pull back, warning that the feature was not ready and that AI-generated errors were adding to issues of misinformation and falling trust in news.
The BBC complained to Apple in December but it did not respond until January when it promised a software update that would define the role of AI in creating the news summaries, which were optional and only available to readers with the latest iPhones.
This stance however, prompted a further wave of criticism that the tech giant was not going far enough.
Apple has now decided to disable the AI news feature entirely for news and entertainment apps.
“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,” an Apple spokesperson said.
The company said that for other apps the AI-generated summaries of app alerts will appear using italicized text.
“We’re pleased that Apple has listened to our concerns and is pausing the summarization feature for news,” a BBC spokesperson said. “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.”
Apple had said the AI-generated feature, which rolled out to users in the UK in December, was intended to make customers’ lives more efficient. It groups together and rewrites previews of multiple recent app notifications into a single alert on users’ lock screens.
The decision comes as the company faces pressure to show its AI developments, which investors had been hoping would drive a new wave of demand for iPhones and other technology.
Learn more about Apple’s AI (Apple Intelligence here
