OpenAI's (OPAI.PVT) Sam Altman is pushing his workers to improve ChatGPT as new products from Google (GOOG, GOOG) and Anthropic (ANTH.PVT) boost the competition.
However, there is value in taking it all in and planning your next move while AI players are ducking it out, racing for an advantage, and spending like crazy. Not everyone can accomplish this, of course.
But Apple (AAPL) sure can. The iPhone maker and AI laggard announced a huge staff shake-up earlier this week, suggesting an inflection point in its AI approach.
John Giannandrea, the company's senior AI executive, is out. Giannandrea oversaw the company's challenges in releasing a cutting-edge AI product as its main competitors and many of its customers advanced.
Amar Subramanya, an AI executive from Microsoft, was the head of engineering for the Gemini assistant during his 16 years at Google.
"We believe that this was a major reset while expecting more outside hires from Cook & Co. to get Apple on the right track when it comes to AI," wrote Wedbush analyst and Apple bull Dan Ives in a note on Tuesday.
The changeup comes after Apple's highly advertised AI improvements to Siri have been postponed until next year, adding to the notion among analysts and investors that it missed the AI train.
But it also comes after an exceptional quarter propelled by high iPhone sales, demonstrating that the business can still afford to take its time.
The late-to-the-party AI strategy does have its merits. While its would-be competitors were wading through botched AI rollouts, boardroom drama, and initial public backlash, Apple waltzed in with Apple Intelligence, sidestepped the mess, and welcomed analysts' praise for a more thoughtful approach to AI tailored to its products rather than a commoditized version that client companies can swap out.
After a year and a half, that argument has changed, portraying the corporation as merely lagging behind due to the lack of enthusiasm and ambiguous involvement in the AI game.
Ives wrote, "The invisible AI strategy is still the elephant in the room." "The innovation coming out of Apple Park has been quite unimpressive so far.”
The leadership transition signifies a shift to come. Apple and Google are anticipated to complete a new collaboration that will use Google's Gemini AI technology to power a redesigned Siri assistant. Apple, it appears, is already picking from the winners, content to be in the customer's seat rather than a provider's.
And for a company with a coveted ecosystem and user base, the very things that AI startups are ultimately after, this feels like a powerful position that should let Cupertino play to its Steve Jobs-ian strengths: as a design company innovating at the person/machine interface and then marketing better than anyone.
