Smarten up
Apple's AI surprises
Good morning, deep-learning dabblers. This is your Stock Market Rundown for June 20th, 2024. Thanks for tuning in again today. Let’s get started:
TODAY’S TOP STORY: NEXT-LEVEL TECH IN YOUR PHONE
Lately, artificial intelligence has been the shiny new toy in Silicon Valley. If you’re an “early adopter” type, you’ve probably played around with AI tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney.
Google and Microsoft rushed to jump on the AI bandwagon, with Google debuting its AI model Gemini and Microsoft investing billions to partner with Open AI. But the other tech giant—Apple—was a noticeable laggard.
Well, that changed last week, when Apple held their annual Worldwide Developer Conference. The company unveiled a host of AI tools which will soon appear in iPhones, iPads and Macs, and had Apple fanboys swooning.
One big highlight was Apple’s AI-based writing tools for generating, proofreading, and summarizing text. Big help for anybody trying to cut back on the time they spend playing corporate email ping-pong.
Another fun feature: the ability to record and transcribe audio in the Notes app. Great for recording yourself talking in your sleep, so you can check whether you had any brilliant startup ideas.
Next: ever wanted to delete your ex from a pic, so you can post it on your new Tinder account? The Apple photos app is getting a AI-powered Clean Up tool that lets you remove “distracting objects”.
Finally, Siri, Apple’s virtual assistant, is getting an IQ boost. You’ll be able to respond to Siri by nodding for “yes” or shaking your head for “no”. Incredible: we can now communicate with our devices using body language. Maybe soon we’ll be able to point at an empty milk carton to prompt our fridge to order more, or raise our eyebrows to turn up our thermostat.
SO WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?
Red flags are waving in the labor market with new unemployment claims hitting a 10-month high. Got extra dough at the end of the month? Consider putting it into your emergency fund rather than Balenciagas and Botox.
Amazon is launching a satellite internet service in seven South American countries. Millions of people from Brazil to Uruguay will be able to log onto Amazon and buy “live laugh love” wall art and “world’s best dad” coffee mugs.
Apple and Meta may face charges for not complying with EU anti-competition rules. Just geoblock the entire continent of Europe from your products, problem solved.
TikTok was the victim of a cyberattack that targeted brands and celebrity accounts. I just need to know: are the Kardashians safe?
That’s it for today, my dear friends; see you bright and early tomorrow morning. Yours in capitalism, The Axe
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