Alibaba's Role in Censoring Apple Intelligence: The Cost of Entry into China's AI Market

Alibaba to Manipulate Apple Intelligence Output in China

Apple will launch its AI system, Apple Intelligence, in China with the help of local tech giant Alibaba. This move comes with a significant caveat: the output of Apple Intelligence must be censored according to Chinese government regulations.

Key Points:

• Apple Intelligence: An Apple-built AI system that runs on devices and in the cloud through Private Cloud Compute, allowing users to interact via Siri and other features.
• Alibaba Partnership: Alibaba will add a layer to manipulate and censor Apple Intelligence's output to meet Chinese censorship requirements.
• Censorship Mechanism: The Alibaba layer ensures that any information deemed inappropriate by the government is filtered out before reaching users.
• Hosting and Updates: Private Cloud Compute will be hosted on servers of a different Chinese company, and updates to Apple Intelligence will temporarily disable the service to ensure new censorship rules are applied.
• Visual Intelligence: Baidu will be used for this feature, similar to how Google is used in the US.
• Availability: The Alibaba layer will only apply to devices purchased in China. Devices brought from other countries won't have AI functionality.
• Regulatory Compliance: Apple must adhere to local laws and demands in all operating regions, whether it's censorship in China, third-party app stores in the EU, or other regional requirements.