Elon Musk, never one to exit a conversation quietly or without attempting to shove the spotlight firmly back onto himself, announced on Monday that he will ban the use of all Apple devices at his companies should Apple dare to integrate OpenAI’s ChatGPT into its operating system at a system-wide level. This was presumably said with a straight face, although no confirmation yet on whether any eyebrows were harmed during delivery.
The flare-up came following Apple’s announcement at its Worldwide Developers Conference that it would now allow users to access ChatGPT via Siri, a move that left Musk appalled, aghast and, presumably, Googling alternative smartphones that do not offend his sensibilities. According to Apple, users will be asked for explicit permission before switching over to ChatGPT and, in a thoughtful twist, their information and queries will not be logged. Privacy, Apple insists, remains king, though perhaps not in Musk’s particular kingdom.
Musk fired back on his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter until he decided it needed less brand recognition, stating that if Apple bakes OpenAI too deeply into its software, then all Apple devices would be banned from his companies. He did not specify whether the ban would be enforced at rocket launch sites, factories or underground tunnel systems that may or may not serve a tangible purpose.
“It’s patently absurd that Apple isn’t smart enough to make their own AI, yet is somehow capable of ensuring that OpenAI will protect your security and privacy,” Musk wrote on X, presumably while using an iPhone.
He also added that Apple devices would be collected at the entrances of his companies and stored in Faraday cages, suggesting either a deep-seated distrust of electromagnetic fields or a strong aesthetic preference for metal boxes.
The irony, of course, is that Musk has previously been an early supporter and co-founder of OpenAI before resigning from its board and becoming one of its loudest critics, which does make one suspect that some company sins are worse than others depending on who is in charge of the indulgences.
So far, Apple has not responded publicly to Musk’s declaration of corporate war, though one imagines their engineers are currently checking how well Siri understands the phrase “ignore Elon.”
In the end, if Musk keeps banning things he dislikes, his employees may soon be left with nothing but pen, paper and a flip phone from 2004.