Apple urged to axe AI feature after false headline

A major journalism body has urged Apple to scrap its new generative AI feature after it created a misleading headline about a high-profile killing in the United States.

The BBC made a complaint to the US tech giant after Apple Intelligence, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to summarise and group together notifications, falsely created a headline about murder suspect Luigi Mangione.

The AI-powered summary falsely made it appear that BBC News had published an article claiming Mangione, the man accused of the murder of healthcare insurance CEO Brian Thompson in New York, had shot himself. He has not.

Now, the group Reporters Without Borders has called on Apple to remove the technology. Apple has made no comment.

Apple Intelligence was launched in the UK last week.

Reporters Without Borders, also known as RSF, said it was was "very concerned by the risks posed to media outlets" by AI tools.

The group said the BBC incident proves "generative AI services are still too immature to produce reliable information for the public".

Vincent Berthier, the head of RSF's technology and journalism desk, added: "AIs are probability machines, and facts can't be decided by a roll of the dice.

"RSF calls on Apple to act responsibly by removing this feature. 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."

Apple has made no comment since the story broke last week.

When the grouped notification involving BBC News emerged, a spokesperson from the BBC said the corporation had contacted Apple "to raise this concern and fix the problem".

The notification which made a false claim about Mangione was otherwise accurate in its summaries about the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria and an update on South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.

The BBC has not yet confirmed if Apple has responded to its complaint.

Mangione has now been charged with first-degree murder in the killing of Mr Thompson.

The BBC does not appear to be the only news publisher which has had headlines misrepresented by Apple's new AI tech.

On 21 November, three articles from the New York Times were grouped together in one notification - with one part reading "Netanyahu arrested", referring to the Israeli prime minister.

It was inaccurately summarising a report about the International Criminal Court issuing an arrest warrant for Netanyahu, rather than any reporting about him being arrested.

The mistake was highlighted on Bluesky by journalist Ken Schwencke with the US investigative journalism website ProPublica.

Mr Schwencke told BBC News that he took the screenshot and confirmed it was real. The New York Times has declined to comment.

As part of its roll out of Apple Intelligence, Apple allows users to group notifications.

Apple said customers might like this to help reduce the interruptions caused by ongoing notifications.

It is only available on certain iPhones - those using the iOS 18.1 system version or later on recent devices (all iPhone 16 phones, the 15 Pro, and the 15 Pro Max). It is also available on some iPads and Macs.

The grouped notifications are marked with a specific icon, and users can report any concerns they have on a notification summary. Apple has not outlined how many reports it has received.

Apple Intelligence does not just summarise the articles of publishers, and it has been reported that the summaries of emails and text messages have occasionally not quite hit the mark.