Musk "crashes" WWDC: If Apple integrates OpenAI into its operating system, my companies will ban iPhones
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Musk "crashes" WWDC: If Apple integrates OpenAI into its operating system, my companies will ban iPhones
Elon Musk threatened that if Apple integrates ChatGPT functionality at the operating system level, all companies under his leadership would ban Apple devices, citing OpenAI's disrespect for user data privacy.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsBy Du Yu
Source: Wall Street Horizon
On Monday, June 10, Apple's annual WWDC Worldwide Developers Conference introduced AI features into mainstream operating systems for devices such as iPhones, Macs, and iPads—most notably enabling Siri to access ChatGPT.
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and a long-time critic of OpenAI—the company behind the generative AI chatbot ChatGPT—reacted strongly, posting repeatedly on his social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to warn Apple against integrating ChatGPT into its operating system:
"If Apple integrates OpenAI at the OS level, Apple devices will be banned from all companies under my control. This is an unacceptable security breach."
"Visitors to these companies must check their Apple devices at the door, where they will be stored in a Faraday cage." (Note: A Faraday cage is a metal enclosure that blocks electromagnetic fields.)
"It’s absurd that Apple isn’t smart enough to build its own AI, yet somehow can ensure OpenAI protects user security and privacy. Once Apple hands over your data to OpenAI, who knows what might happen? They’re selling you out."
Musk shared an image showing an Indian couple gazing lovingly at each other. The woman is labeled "Apple," the man "OpenAI," and they are sharing juice from a coconut labeled "iPhone," with the juice itself marked "user data." The image is titled "How Apple Intelligence Works."
Musk argued that the problem with "consenting" to data sharing is that no one actually reads the terms and conditions, meaning users could be compromised without even realizing it.
He also reposted a user’s post stating that actress Scarlett Johansson had told OpenAI not to use her voice, but the company still mimicked and used it closely. "Now imagine what they can do with your phone data—even if you don’t allow them to," the post said. Musk replied: "Exactly!" He referred to OpenAI as "creepy spyware."
The "companies under my control" that Musk referred to likely include Tesla, space transport firm SpaceX, xAI—a potential OpenAI competitor—brain-computer interface startup Neuralink, and tunneling venture The Boring Company. As of December 31 of last year, Tesla alone, Musk’s largest company, employed over 140,000 people globally.
In March this year, Musk sued OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, accusing them of abandoning OpenAI’s founding mission “to develop AI for the benefit of humanity” and deliberately transforming the originally non-profit organization into a for-profit entity. Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 but resigned from the board in 2018, after which he has consistently criticized the company for irresponsible AI development.
xAI, Musk’s direct competitor to OpenAI, recently raised $6 billion in a Series B funding round, bringing its valuation to approximately $24 billion. xAI’s product is a generative chatbot named Grok. In contrast, OpenAI’s valuation reached $80 billion in February this year, making it the third most valuable tech startup globally, behind only ByteDance and SpaceX.
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