Apple is blocking an update of an email app that includes AI-powered language tools as the tech giant fears the AI technology could produce inappropriate content for children.
Key Details
- The delay is of the email app BlueMail, which contains AI-powered language tools to help create emails using data from previous emails, calendar dates, and other data from the app.
- Apple has blocked the update fearing the chatbot could produce inappropriate content for children using the app as AI is not yet fully reliable.
- Apple requested that BlueMail make the age restriction on the app 17 years old or create a system that filters the content to ensure no inappropriate messages are crafted by AI technology.
Why it’s news
Artificial intelligence is going viral for its human-like capabilities with many large companies introducing the technology into their systems, but one significant company still has doubts—Apple.
Apple has recently blocked the update of the email app BlueMail that contains OpenAI’s ChatGPT to use data from users’ previous emails, calendar dates, and other information to craft emails that sound like the user wrote them and not a bot.
The company says its reasons for blocking the update are that AI technology is unreliable and could produce inappropriate content for children using the app.
Apple said for the update to be approved BlueMail must make the age restriction for the app 17 years or older or create a system to filter what the chatbot says and ensure it is not crafting inappropriate messages.
BlueMail was able to update its Android BlueMail app on the Google Play app store without making age requirement changes or adding filtering features, according to co-founder of BlueMail’s developer Blix Inc, Ben Volach.
Volach also states that there are other apps on the Apple app store with AI capabilities and no age restrictions, adding that the restrictions to BlueMail will limit the number of users available.
“Apple is making it really hard for us to bring innovation to our users,” he says.
It hasn’t been said if BlueMail will make the adjustments in order for the app to be updated by Apple or if the phone company will give in and make the changes with no adjustments.