I’m sipping my coffee and reading about the latest drama between OpenAI and Apple, and folks, it’s getting juicy. Apparently, OpenAI is accusing a former employee of stealing intellectual property related to an unreleased device and sharing some of that information with Apple. Because, you know, that’s exactly what you want to do with confidential info – share it with the competition.
The employee in question had previously worked at Apple, then joined OpenAI for six months before going back to Apple. I mean, who doesn’t love a good game of musical chairs, right? According to a court filing from OpenAI, the employee downloaded over 100 highly confidential files to their personal accounts before rejoining Apple. The transferred files include detailed images of the unreleased device, as well as highly confidential engineering and manufacturing data. Yeah, no big deal, just your run-of-the-mill, totally-not-sensitive information.
OpenAI also claims that the former employee made a presentation about OpenAI’s product plans to Apple’s senior leadership, including Apple’s vice president of operations in Asia. I can just imagine the presentation: “Hey, guys, so OpenAI is working on this super-secret project, and I’m going to tell you all about it.” You can’t make this stuff up, folks. OpenAI wrote in the filing that “that presentation appears to have happened months ago—and now, armed with that information, Apple is making a new push into AI-enabled products.” Wow, what a coincidence.
Apple, on the other hand, told CNN that it has found no evidence to support the allegations and that it has strict policies in place to make sure new employees don’t use confidential information from previous workplaces. Sure, because that’s always worked out so well in the past. Apple also said it would work with OpenAI to remediate any of OpenAI’s information found on Apple’s systems. How nice of them.
It’s worth noting that Apple accused OpenAI of trying to create a distraction from the original claims of their case. The allegations came as part of a filing in an ongoing lawsuit that Apple brought against OpenAI in July, alleging the AI company stole the iPhone maker’s trade secrets to develop its own gadgets. OpenAI has denied the claims, saying Apple hasn’t been able to identify any stolen trade secrets and has sought to dismiss the case. Bless their hearts.
Both companies are racing to create AI-enabled devices, because that’s not a crowded market at all. This week, Apple announced HomeView, its biggest push into the smart home market in nearly a decade with a revamped version of Siri. OpenAI is working on an AI-enabled device, reported to be a small screen-free smart speaker. Last year, OpenAI brought on former Apple product design chief Jonny Ive and his company, io, to take over design and creative responsibilities across the company. I’m sure that had nothing to do with Apple’s allegations.
While engineers and researchers regularly switch companies in Silicon Valley, Apple said in a court filing that OpenAI has hired more than 400 of its former employees. I guess that’s one way to get ahead in the tech world – just poach all your competitors’ employees. CNN’s Lisa Eadicicco contributed to this report, and I’m sure she had a blast writing about all the drama.
In conclusion, it’s clear that the battle between OpenAI and Apple is heating up, and it’s going to be a wild ride. With all the accusations and denials flying back and forth, it’s hard to keep track of who’s stealing what from whom. But hey, at least it’s entertaining. And who knows, maybe one day we’ll get to see these AI-enabled devices and judge for ourselves who came up with the idea first. Until then, I’ll just be over here, sipping my coffee and enjoying the show 🙄.
Armchair patriot. Believes in the free market, cold beer, and that there’s always a guy named George behind every CNN segment.
Former remote-throwing champion turned #1 couch commentator on liberal panic in the media. Born in Texas (or so his mug says), he earned a degree in Fake Newsology & Beer Philosophy from YouTube University.
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