Apple iPhone. Credit: Pexels, Imthiyaz Syed
Apple’s new artificial intelligence feature, Apple Intelligence, is under fire for issuing false news alerts – it claimed that Luke Littler had won the PDC World Championship, and that tennis legend Rafael Nadal had come out as gay.
The false news alerts have tarnished the credibility of trusted media outlets including the BBC.
The AI-generated alert about Luke Littler incorrectly declared him the champion before the final match against Michael van Gerwen had even taken place. This misleading summary was based on a BBC article covering Littler’s semi-final victory. The false notification was sent to BBC News app users, caused widespread confusion as the final was yet to start.
Adding to the blunder, another Apple AI summary on the BBC Sport app claimed that Rafael Nadal, a tennis icon, had come out as gay. This false notification seemingly misinterpreted an article about Brazilian tennis player Joao Lucas Reis da Silva, who is gay.
BBC’s concern over Apple AI news blunder
The BBC expressed serious concern over these repeated errors. A spokesperson stated, “It is essential that Apple fixes this problem urgently – as this has happened multiple times. As the most trusted news media organisation in the world, it is crucial that audiences can trust any information or journalism published in our name and that includes notifications.”
This isn’t the first time Apple Intelligence has faced criticism. In December, the AI generated a misleading summary about a high-profile alleged murder involving Luigi Mangione. The summary inaccurately stated Mangione had shot himself, mixing details from unrelated headlines into a single, inaccurate notification.
What is Apple Intelligence?
Launched in October 2024, Apple Intelligence aims to simplify notifications by summarising alerts from apps like BBC News and BBC Sport. However, the feature’s AI-generated summaries have repeatedly proven unreliable. The service is available on select iPhones, iPads, and Macs using iOS 18.1 or later.
Apple has yet to publicly respond to these incidents.
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