Apple wants to remove users from devices

Replace fanboys with AI

Fruity tax-dodging cargo-cult Apple is working out a way to cut out a major weakness in its devices’ business model – its users.

One of Apple’s problems is that the sort of person who is dumb enough to buy its over priced shiny toys is not the sort of person who is intelligent enough to operate an electronic device.

According to Bloomberg, Apple is working on a processor devoted specifically to AI-related tasks to take the heavy lifting work of the user.

“The chip, known internally as the Apple Neural Engine, would improve the way the company’s devices handle tasks that would otherwise require human intelligence — such as facial recognition and speech recognition,” reports Bloomberg.

An AI-enabled processor would help Cupertino, California-based Apple integrate more advanced capabilities into devices, particularly cars that drive themselves and gadgets that run augmented reality, the technology that superimposes graphics and other information onto a person’s view of the world.

Apple devices currently handle complex artificial intelligence processes with two different chips: the main processor and the graphics chip. The new chip would let Apple offload those tasks onto a dedicated module designed specifically for demanding artificial intelligence processing, allowing Apple to improve battery performance.

It will also mean that those Apple users who lack opposable thumbs, but have big bank balances will be able to use more of the smartphone’s ality. 

It is all pie in the sky stuff at the moment. The Tame Apple Press tends to release news like this to give the impression that Jobs’ Mob is still cutting edge, but we never see any actual products.