Apple’s newly announced AI feature wrongly summarises news report, receives severe backlash

Apple’s newly launched AI feature — Notification Summary — has landed in hot water after it inaccurately summarised a BBC report. The AI falsely claimed that Luigi Mangione, a suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare's CEO, had died by suicide—a claim that was entirely untrue. Following this blunder, Reporters Without Borders, a prominent press freedom organisation, called on Apple to remove the contentious feature.

BBC alleged that it contacted Apple to fix the AI-generated headline, which was factually incorrect. "BBC News is the most trusted news media in the world," the BBC spokesperson added. It is essential to us that our audiences can trust any information or journalism published in our name and that includes notifications,” BBC spokesperson said. Apple is yet to react to the whole AI ‘blunder’.

Vincent Berthier, the head of Reporters Without Borders' technology and journalism desk, urged Apple to "act responsibly" and remove the controversial feature. “AIs are probability machines, and facts can’t be decided by a roll of the dice. The automated production of false information attributed to a media outlet is a blow to the outlet’s credibility and a danger to the public’s right to reliable information on current affairs,” he said in a statement.

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