Apple Suspends AI-Generated News Alerts Amid Accuracy Concerns

Apple has temporarily disabled its AI feature for summarizing news headlines following widespread criticism over repeated errors. The service, which sent notifications that appeared to originate from news organizations’ apps, faced backlash for inaccuracies that led to public and industry concerns about misinformation.

The tech giant confirmed the suspension and promised improvements in a future update. “We are working on improvements and will make them available in a future software update,” an Apple spokesperson stated.

False Headlines Spark Complaints

Among the most notable errors was an AI-generated alert falsely claiming that Luigi Mangione, accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, had committed suicide. The BBC, Sky News, the New York Times, and the Washington Post also reported inaccurate headline summaries generated by the feature.

Journalism advocacy group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) emphasized the potential harm of rushing out underdeveloped technology. “Innovation must never come at the expense of the right of citizens to receive reliable information,” RSF stated. Vincent Berthier, an RSF representative, added, “This feature should not be rolled out again until there is zero risk it will publish inaccurate headlines.”

The Risks of AI Hallucinations

The errors highlighted a broader issue with AI known as “hallucinations,” where models fabricate information. Jonathan Bright, head of AI for public services at the Alan Turing Institute, noted the risks such flaws pose to public trust.

“Hallucinations are a real concern, and as yet firms don’t have a way of systematically guaranteeing that AI models will never hallucinate, apart from human oversight,” Bright explained. He added that such incidents exacerbate challenges to the credibility of news media.

Media organizations have urged Apple to pause the rollout, citing the AI errors as detrimental to the fragile public trust in journalism. The BBC, in particular, raised concerns in December, leading Apple to commit to clarifying the AI’s role in the notifications. However, criticism persisted, culminating in Apple’s decision to halt the feature temporarily.

Apple’s Response

The suspension applies to news and entertainment apps, with changes implemented in the latest beta versions of iOS 18.3, iPadOS 18.3, and macOS Sequoia 15.3. Notifications for other app categories will still include AI-generated summaries, now identified by italicized text.

“We’re pleased that Apple has listened to our concerns and is pausing the summarization feature for news,” a BBC spokesperson said. “Our priority is the accuracy of the news we deliver to audiences, which is essential to building and maintaining trust.”

Apple’s decision underscores the challenges tech companies face in balancing innovation with reliability.