Aamir Siddiqui / Android Authority
long story short
- Apple recently published a research paper on a large language model it has been working on.
- The company calls its artificial intelligence architecture MM1.
- MM1 can be used to build generative AI tools that run on devices.
When it comes to artificial intelligence, we’ve seen a plethora of products from major players in the tech space like Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI, such as ChatGPT and Gemini. While these companies have been rolling out generative AI solutions, Apple has been pretty quiet on this front. But if you thought Apple might be falling asleep at the wheel, a recently published research paper suggests that’s not the case.
Apple quietly submitted a research paper last week covering its work on a multimodal large language model (MLLM) called MM1. Apple didn’t explain the meaning behind the name, but it likely stands for MultiModal 1.
MM1 is multi-modal, capable of processing text and images. Overall, its functionality and design are similar to Google’s Gemini or Meta’s open source LLM Llama 2.
An earlier report came from Bloomberg Expressed Apple’s interest in integrating Google’s Gemini AI engine into the iPhone. The two companies are reportedly still in talks to have Apple license Gemini to power some generative AI features in iOS 18.
While Apple is trying to obtain this license, it may plan to use MM1 for other purposes.according to wired, the Cupertino company may be considering Gemini as an alternative to traditional Google search. Meanwhile, a former employee who led Apple’s artificial intelligence research, Ruslan Salahudinov, The media said it believes the company may focus on building generative artificial intelligence tools that run on devices based on MM1.
Another report comes from Bloomberg Last week it was mentioned that Apple acquired Canadian artificial intelligence startup DarwinAI, which specializes in creating smaller and faster artificial intelligence systems. This is a key element of on-device processing and can play the role suggested by Salakhutdinov.
It’s unclear when Apple could start rolling out these AI products. However, CEO Tim Cook did say at the company’s annual shareholder meeting that AI is already at work behind the scenes on Apple products, but there will be more news on explicit AI capabilities later this year.