Apple has suspended a new artificial intelligence (AI) feature that drew criticism and complaints for repeatedly making mistakes in summarizing news headlines.
The tech giant was facing increasing pressure to withdraw the service, which sent notifications that appeared to come from within the news organizations’ apps.
“We are working on improvements and will make them available in a future software update,” an Apple spokesperson said.
The BBC was among the groups to complain, after an alert generated by Apple’s AI falsely told some readers that Luigi Mangione, who is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, had been killed. , has shot himself.
Media outlets and press groups have said that the feature is not ready and AI-generated errors are adding to the problems of misinformation and loss of trust in news.
“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 added.
According to reports from journalists and others on social media, the feature also misrepresented headlines from The New York Times and The Washington Post.
Apple previously only promised a software update that would clarify AI’s role in creating summaries, which were optional and only available to readers with the latest iPhones.
This decision completely disables the feature for news and entertainment apps.
A BBC spokesperson said: “We are pleased that Apple has listened to our concerns and is stopping the summary feature for news.
“We look forward to working constructively with them on the next steps. Our priority is the accuracy of the news we deliver to audiences, which is essential to building and maintaining trust.”
Apple said the feature, which was introduced to UK users in December, was aimed at making users’ 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 off its AI breakthroughs, which investors had hoped would fuel a new wave of demand for iPhones and other technology.
The company’s shares fell more than 4 percent in trading on Thursday after reports of sales difficulties in China.