It’s reported that the US government and parliament have been investigating that Apple’s contract with Alibaba is a transfer act to put in artificial intelligence (AI) on the Chinese iPhone. It’s analyzed that Apple’s technical competition between the 2 countries shall be greatly behind within the Chinese market.
The Latest York Times reported on Tuesday that Apple has signed a contract with Alibaba to supply AI functions to Chinese iPhone users, and the White House and the US House of Representatives have been investigating them for months.
The federal government and the National Assembly questioned that this cooperation could contribute to the advance of AI capability of Chinese corporations, and to expand China’s censorship system and strengthen data access.
Cooperation with Alibaba is desperate for Apple. Apple has emphasized the ‘Apple Intelligence’ feature, including an open AI chat GPT on the iPhone’s ‘Siri’ since last yr, but it is rather difficult to pass the censorship with a chat GPT in China.
Consequently, Alibaba was a Chinese partner and Apple Intelligence, which was equipped with ‘Q1’, has requested the approval of regulators. Nonetheless, the US government is wary of this try and subordinate Apple to China.
Apple senior executives visited Washington DC in March and met with the House of Representatives.
“Alibaba is an organization that represents the Chinese community convergence strategy of the Chinese Communist Party,” said the secretary -general of the House of Representatives.
“America is competing with China and doesn’t want Korean corporations to assist Chinese corporations.”
Apple has not yet officially announced cooperation with Alibaba. Alibaba has revealed that Chairman Zhao Chai cooperates in February.
The difficulty appeared within the midst of Apple’s complex difficulties in China. The transaction with YMTC, a Chinese memory manufacturer, also withdrew from the federal government’s pressure.
Last yr, Apple’s iPhone share in China fell from 19%to fifteen%. Although there are numerous reasons, it is usually an enormous problem that the AI ​​function is missing on all local mobile phones reminiscent of Huawei.
Apple’s alternative of Alibaba over Deep Chic was the most important e -commerce company in China, which could have a huge impact on Apple’s distribution and marketing. Experts indicate that in cooperation, iOS users need to install AI apps individually, which might result in a decrease in user experience.
Nonetheless, there may be a powerful concern that China’s AI technology could be used for military purposes, and the US is reportedly considering raising Alibaba on the ban on trading.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump criticized the CEO of Tim Cook last week that “Apple should produce products in the US, not India.” This also expressed dissatisfaction with the federal government’s pressure to maneuver the iPhone manufacturing facility from China to India.
By Park Chan, reporter cpark@aitimes.com
