We now have at least three warnings about Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) over the last few months that have been validated by recent events. In April, before Apple released earnings, we noted that social data aggregator LikeFolio had put out a sell rating on the stock based on their analysis of social media data, and we presented a couple ways for concerned shareholders to hedge if they wanted to stay long (Hedging Apple Ahead Of Earnings). When we plot "purchase intent mentions" for Apple on a 30 day moving average, we see a steady erosion over the past 4-6 months. We also have seen FAR lower purchase intent mentions surrounding Apple's new product releases than prior (even comparably minor) product releases. In an article last month (Apple: The Next BlackBerry?), we shared Marco Arment's warning about Apple slipping behind in AI (artificial intelligence).

Since 2007, I've read countless versions of the "Apple is doomed" argument, most of them related to the iPhone. Apple was doomed because it dared compete in the smartphone business, then it was doomed when Android came along, and then it was doomed every time a product failed to arouse the imagination of some analyst or journalist. In all this time, however, Apple has been anything but doomed. And it's likely that will not happen in the foreseeable future. Today's version of "Apple is doomed" comes from well-known outspoken software developer Marco Arment, who has often shared his views on Apple's business.

Since 2007, I've read countless versions of the "Apple is doomed" argument, most of them related to the iPhone. Apple was doomed because it dared compete in the smartphone business, then it was doomed when Android came along, and then it was doomed every time a product failed to arouse the imagination of some analyst or journalist. In all this time, however, Apple has been anything but doomed. And it's likely that will not happen in the foreseeable future. Today's version of "Apple is doomed" comes from well-known outspoken software developer Marco Arment, who has often shared his views on Apple's business.

Siri seemed pretty futuristic when Apple first released the voice activated virtual assistant. But with Google, Facebook, Amazon and a slew of promising startups pushing the limits of interactive interfaces, the original app for making your phone talk back to you is seeming like a bit of a relic. Leading thinkers in the world of tech are a little concerned. Influential Apple developer Marco Arment wrote in a blog post over the weekend that Apple was falling so far behind in developing artificial intelligence interfaces, the company could fall off the map like Blackberry did. The concern could soon be--and Apple surely hopes already is--irrelevant.

Popular tech blogger and software developer Marco Arment over the weekend argued that Apple's apparent failure to invest heavily in artificial intelligence wouldn't potentially render the tech giant irrelevant in the future. AI is currently fueling much-hyped personal assistants from rivals and Arment fears Apple's inaction may make the company the next BlackBerry (BBRY), which notoriously got crushed by Apple's iPhone. But Apple's success elsewhere should be able to keep it in the game, and moreover, the company might not necessarily need to develop its own AI software and services to remain competitive, some analysts say. Arment's criticism comes as Amazon (AMZN) enjoys unexpected success with its Echo digital personal assistant devices and days after Alphabet's Google (GOOGL) said it would introduce its own Echo-like devices later this year. The Amazon devices are based on its Alexa artificial intelligence assistant, while Google will incorporate its similar Google Now assistant into its devices.

The tech world was in a frenzy this weekend, arguing over whether or not Apple would collapse if it failed to catch onto the budding trend of artificial intelligence, which some think could be the next major computing platform after the smartphone. Marco Arment, a well-respected developer and observer of the tech industry, wrote a post on his Friday highlighting how Apple appears to be behind on AI compared to its biggest competitors like Facebook, Amazon, and especially Google, which showed off some interesting AI-powered gadgets and apps at the I/O developers conference last week. Microsoft is doing a lot of cool stuff with machine learning and AI too, racist chatbots excluded, of course.) The argument goes that if AI turns out to be a major platform and we end up communicating with our gadgets through voice more than tapping and touching, then Apple could be in big trouble and suffer a similar fate as BlackBerry did when it failed to adapt to modern touchscreen smartphones. Where Apple suffers is big-data services and AI, such as search, relevance, classification, and complex natural-language queries.

Marco Arment, the former lead developer for Tumblr and creator of Instapaper, this weekend (May 21) argued in a blog post that Apple risks succumbing to the same fate as BlackBerry, which saw its business evaporate when Apple's iPhone changed the game. Arment contends that Apple is unprepared for the shift if consumers begin favoring services rooted in artificial intelligence being developed by other internet giants. "Today, Amazon, Facebook, and Google are placing large bets on advanced AI, ubiquitous assistants, and voice interfaces, hoping that these will become the next thing that our devices are for. Today, Apple's being led properly day-to-day and doing very well overall. But if the landscape shifts to prioritize those big-data AI services, Apple will find itself in a similar position as BlackBerry did almost a decade ago: what they're able to do, despite being very good at it, won't be enough anymore, and they won't be able to catch up."

If Google is right about the future, there are troubling signs to suggest Apple could meet the same fate as BlackBerry, according to top Apple follower Marco Arment. In a blog post, Arment argues that BlackBerry was great at creating phones and dominated the market before Apple released the iPhone. The problem was that the iPhone release didn't just create a better smartphone -- it changed what people used them for entirely. BlackBerry was great at creating at a device for email and phone calls, but Apple unleashed the App Store and now there's an app for everything. It fundamentally changed the definition for a smartphone, and BlackBerry couldn't ever play catch-up.