Apple Inc. Doubles Down On Privacy Despite Artificial Intelligence Limitations

If Apple's battle with the FBI in the case centered on the iPhone 5C of the San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook showed the world anything, it was that the company is serious about protecting its customers' privacy. Consistent with engaging in a high-profile fight with the law enforcement agency over its insistence on keeping all its customers' data on their iPads and iPhones, Apple has fallen behind the likes of Facebook, Google and Microsoft in leveraging the power of cloud computing to launch more advanced artificial intelligence (AI) features in operating systems and applications. Apple doubled down on that privacy stance Monday, even as the company revealed it was working on a new technology that would allow it to roll out more advanced AI features while keeping its customers' data safe from prying eyes. Called "differential privacy," this technology enables both the anonymity of data and the spotting of trends, with one privacy expert describing it as "visionary." The firm not only opened its digital assistant Siri to third-party app developers but also made it available on desktop personal computers.