Apple's new AI service, Apple Intelligence, is facing scrutiny for its unreliable news summarization feature, which has been spreading misinformation. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has called on Apple to disable the feature following the numerous errors.
Misleading Summaries and False Headlines
Apple Intelligence, which is designed to automatically summarize news and notifications, has generated false headlines and summaries. For example, the AI falsely reported that Luigi Mangione, accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, had shot himself. Additionally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was incorrectly reported as being under arrest.
Reporters Without Borders and BBC Respond
These inaccuracies have prompted a strong response from Reporters Without Borders (RSF), who argue that AI is not yet capable of reliably summarizing complex information. RSF emphasizes the need for human oversight in news processing and that AI should not replace journalistic diligence.
RSF argues that AI systems are still unable to reliably summarize complex content, resulting in errors that amount to misinformation for users...human control is essential...
The BBC, whose headlines were also misrepresented, has also complained to Apple. These incidents raise serious concerns about the readiness and responsible use of AI in news and information dissemination.
Apple has yet to respond to these criticisms and calls to disable the feature. It remains to be seen how the company will address this issue.
