Apple aims to up its AI smarts with iCloud user data in iOS 10.3

The next version of Apple's mobile platform will include an opt-in for iOS users to share their iCloud data in order to help the company improve software products, such as its voice-powered virtual assistant, Siri. The iOS 10.3 beta was released earlier this week. A note about the forthcoming change, under the heading "iCloud Analytics & Privacy", says any user data shared with Apple via this opt in will undergo "privacy preserving techniques" -- continuing its privacy-first approach to stepping up its AI efforts. One of the most interesting changes in 10.3 – Apple will use differential privacy on iCloud user data to improve services (opt-in) pic.twitter.com/NKqrTee8Fq The company has generally lagged behind data-mining rivals such as Google in developing machine learning powered technologies and embedding them into its software and services to offer a more personalized and/or predictive experience, in no small part because it has prioritized (and championed) user privacy -- meaning, unlike its major rivals, Apple does not routinely suck up users' personal data in the clear.