Is it weird that I love Apple's hilariously cryptic AI notifications?
It's brilliant for all the wrong reasons.
Apple Intelligence bought the promise of an integrated personal AI system to streamline our busy lives, but one feature is bringing that practicality into question – AI notification summaries. While in theory, concise and condensed notifications are a handy feature, some users' cryptic and unintentionally hilarious results are raising more questions than answers.
Last month Apple Intelligence launched to general users in iOS 18.1, and since then reviews have been mixed, to say the least. While its new writing tools and photo clean-up capabilities are handy (albeit nothing new – Google's Magic Editor got there first), Apple's bizarre AI notification summaries are the accidental star of Apple Intelligence for all the wrong reasons.
Apple’s AI text summary feature absolutely CLOCKED me today pic.twitter.com/jP98PZTz5ONovember 8, 2024
While Apple Intelligence's summaries are essentially a TLDR of all your notifications, they lack the context of human sarcasm, jokes and slang, making for some hilariously blunt and bizarre summaries. While the feature seems to work better with long-form emails, casual texts and humourous tweets are transformed into cryptic riddles rather than helpful synopsises.
Thanks, Apple AI summary. pic.twitter.com/aQupa2x8pzNovember 7, 2024
While admittedly it might not be the time-saving feature that Apple intended, they certainly add a refreshing hilarity to bog-standard notifications. Some users are even seeing them as a challenge, trying to decipher the mysterious summaries out of context. "Big fan of Apple Intelligence’s summary feature – mainly because it turns every boring notification I wouldn’t previously read into a cute little mystery to unwrap," Threads user danielocnnr wrote.
Apple intelligence summarizing X notifications… pic.twitter.com/2M68a6xi3uNovember 8, 2024
Have no notes on The apple intelligence summaries for notifications btw pic.twitter.com/mdJBWEKom9November 7, 2024
For more insight into Apple's latest AI features, check out why Apple Intelligence could be bad news for AI gadgets like the Rabbit R1 and AI Pin. If you're after more AI news, take a look at how spatial intelligence is set to revolutionise AI's understanding of the world.
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Natalie is Creative Bloq's staff writer. With an eye for trending topics and a passion for internet culture, she brings you the latest in art and design news. A recent English Literature graduate, Natalie enjoys covering the lighter side of the news and brings a fresh and fun take to her articles. Outside of work (if she’s not glued to her phone), she loves all things music and enjoys singing sweet folky tunes.