With many other major tech companies betting on AI technology, the industry is still preparing for Apple's somewhat delayed entry into the AI market.
Apple is expected to reveal a comprehensive AI strategy as part of its upcoming iOS and macOS updates at WWDC 2024, and the company will likely turn to cloud processing to handle data.
Having traditionally emphasized on-device processing to protect user privacy, a report from Information has detailed how the company could use 'black box processing' to maintain security while using online services.
Apple's AI could depend on a “black box” in the cloud
Typically, cloud services encrypt data when it is stored, but in order to process it, it must be decrypted. iCloud already uses a combination of in-transit, server-side, and end-to-end encryption across all of its services, depending on the level of protection users choose.
Apple's solution for upcoming AI services, says Informationis to enhance its Secure Enclave technology that isolates sensitive data to enable private processing in the cloud.
The approach appears to be linked to the Apple Chips in Data Centers project, a project in which Apple will develop its own chips to run artificial intelligence services in data centers.
The confidential computing initiative, reportedly in development for more than three years, aligns with Apple's vision of creating lightweight devices that rely on cloud processing, which helps reduce the load on the device. This could reduce hardware requirements for future products, improve their portability, and (dare we say it) even reduce costs.
Recent reports indicate that the company has been deploying M2 Ultra chips into its cloud infrastructure, with plans to upgrade to M4 chips on the horizon.
In past years, Apple has been criticized for slightly disappointing summer events, with software updates that lack some of the features available on other platforms. The recent rise of AI has added to that sentiment, but with WWDC 2024, the iPhone maker could soon bring it back and level the playing field once again.
