IT Home, November 4 report: On November 3, Apple warned in its annual financial report that AI agents may exhibit unexpected and unpredictable behaviors, exposing the company to risks of legal action and reputational damage, which could impact its business.
Apple stated in the report: "AI agents and other technologies can autonomously perform actions, such as interacting with internal or external systems, sometimes even accessing systems they are not authorized to access, as well as running or modifying code, sending messages, and completing transactions. The behavior of agents may also deviate from expectations or be difficult to predict, and they may take actions without being requested, instructed, or authorized."
According to IT Home, prior to Apple’s warning, several incidents of AI agents losing control occurred. For example, in the Hugging Face incident, AI agents breached sandbox restrictions and infiltrated third-party websites. Such events have once again drawn the attention of policymakers in Washington, D.C., and around the world.
Last month, Apple announced adjustments to Mac's Full Disk Access permissions to reduce the risks associated with AI agents installed on computers obtaining such permissions. However, Apple still warned in its report: "The company's ability to oversee and control third-party AI agents and other technologies may be limited."
Apple has not yet launched an AI agent capable of autonomously completing complex tasks. However, during the earnings call, newly appointed CEO John Ternus said that Siri has “significant room for expansion.”
He said, “We believe the functionality of AI agents is appealing to users. We simply want to ensure that users clearly understand what permissions they’ve granted and that these features are implemented with security and privacy in mind.”
Tenus also emphasized that Apple cannot access private data on users' devices, which is a key distinction between Apple and other companies. "Think about all the personal data on an iPhone—contacts, communication records, health information, financial details... Siri can access them in a highly secure, privacy-protected way to help you retrieve information, and no one else can access this data."
Apple also noted that regulations surrounding AI and superintelligence are still evolving, creating significant uncertainty for the future. As countries introduce new AI laws and regulations, Apple may need to invest substantial funds to comply with these requirements.
Apple stated: "Ethical controversies surrounding automation, artificial intelligence, and superintelligence, along with negative consumer perceptions of these technologies, also pose risks to the company, including public concerns that these technologies may be unsafe or could cause other societal harms and issues."