Apple is set to integrate artificial intelligence into its new phones, but billionaire Elon Musk has threatened a ban of the devices at his companies over what he alleges are security fears.
The tech giant held its annual developer conference in California on Monday during which it made the long-awaited announcement that it was bringing AI to its devices.
Dubbed Apple Intelligence, it is a collection of features that includes text and image generation and an improved Siri voice assistant.
This will be supported by integrating the already popular ChatGPT into the company’s phones.
However, Tesla and X owner Elon Musk, who has a long history with ChatGPT’s owners OpenAI, warned that he would ban iPhones from all of his companies over the move.
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Musk has a fractious relationship with OpenAI – he was a founder of the company but has since turned against it and accused it of failing to follow its founding principles.
Apple’s new AI system would revamp Siri, allowing it to mine information from across a user’s apps.
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But South African billionaire Musk said the decision was an “unacceptable security violation” and said that if OpenAI is integrated at the OS level “then Apple devices will be banned at my companies”.
He accused the Silicon Valley company, without evidence, of turning over user data to OpenAI.
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Image: Elon Musk. Pic: PA
Image: Apple’s WWDC developer conference this week held at Apple Park headquarters. Pic: AP
In their announcement, Apple said that the new AI system would be rooted in privacy, carrying out most processes on the device itself.
Any computing done externally would be done through a new procedure called private cloud computer, Apple said – and claimed it would keep users’ data secure.
They added that users would have to give permission before any request was shared with OpenAI.
The row reflects diverging views surrounding AI, and how quickly the technology is being developed and implemented.
When OpenAI announced ChatGPT back in November 2022 it fired the starting gun on the tech industry’s AI arms race.
The deal will also put ChatGPT, the highflying AI start-up, directly into the phones of possibly millions of users and place Apple alongside other tech companies in betting that AI is the future of their industry.
Apple chief executive Tim Cook said the AI features would be “indispensable” in the company’s products in the years ahead.
But as recently as May of last year, the Washington Post reported that Mr Cook was less enthusiastic on AI, saying generative AI still had “a number of issues that need to be sorted”.
After Monday’s conference, Apple executives said the company was keen to do more deals with other AI chatbots to give users more options for generative tools.
Popularly used AI models have often been pointed out as having faults, including making up information.
Paramount has launched a £108.4bn hostile bid for Warner Bros, challenging Netflix, which had reached a $72bn takeover deal with the company.
Paramount said on Monday that it was going straight to Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) shareholders with a $30 per share in cash offer for the entirety of the company, including its Global Networks segment, asking them to reject the deal with Netflix.
On Friday Netflix struck a deal to buy WBD, the Hollywood giant behind “Harry Potter” and HBO Max
Image: The agreement means Warner Bros Discovery’s library of film and TV successes including Harry Potter and Game Of Thrones will come under the same roof as Stranger Things and Squid Game.
The cash and stock deal is valued at $27.75 per Warner share, giving it a total enterprise value of $82.7 billion, including debt.
But Paramount says its deal will pay $30 cash per share, representing $18 billion more in cash than its rivals are offering.
In a statement, Paramount said it was making a “strategically and financially compelling offer to WBD shareholders” and a “superior alternative to the Netflix transaction”.
Image: File pic: iStock
David Ellison, chairman and CEO of Paramount, said: “WBD shareholders deserve an opportunity to consider our superior all-cash offer for their shares in the entire company.
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“Our public offer, which is on the same terms we provided to the Warner Bros. Discovery Board of Directors in private, provides superior value, and a more certain and quicker path to completion.
“We believe the WBD Board of Directors is pursuing an inferior proposal which exposes shareholders to a mix of cash and stock, an uncertain future trading value of the Global Networks linear cable business and a challenging regulatory approval process.
“We are taking our offer directly to shareholders to give them the opportunity to act in their own best interests and maximize the value of their shares.”
Paramount said it had submitted six proposals to WBD in the course of 12 weeks, but that they were never “meaningfully” engaged with.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Donald Trump’s eldest son has said his father may walk away from the Ukraine peace process, claiming the issue is not a priority for Americans, and signalling Europe needs a better plan.
In a wide-ranging discussion with Sky’s lead world news presenter Yalda Hakim at Doha Forum 2025, Donald Trump Jr addressed issues including the US administration’s recent diplomatic efforts around the world.
He was speaking in his capacity as a business leader, setting out his agenda for “America first” investments in defence technology and artificial intelligence (AI), drawing a direct line between global stability and economic prosperity.
Image: Donald Trump meeting Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington earlier this year. Pic: Reuters
When asked directly if he believed the US president would walk away from Ukraine, he answered: “I think he may, what’s good about my father and what’s unique about my father is you don’t know what he’s going to do. He’s unpredictable.”
President Trump has led renewed efforts for a ceasefire deal with Russia in recent months.
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Drawing a parallel with his father’s current “war” on drug cartels, Donald Trump Jr described gangs bringing illegal drugs into America as a “far greater clear and present danger to the US than anything [going on] in the Ukraine or Russia”.
While he said he did not believe Ukraine would be “abandoned”, he said: “The American public doesn’t have the appetite [for endless wars and further funding of Ukraine’s military efforts].”
Describing Ukraine as “a far more corrupt country than Russia”, he characterised Ukrainian President Zelenskyy as “one of the great marketeers of all time”, who he said had become “a borderline deity, especially to the left”.
He went on to describe President Trump’s approach as “common sense”.
China rivalry was the focus, but Musk got a mention
In a country and at a conference which is friendly, even admiring of the Trump administration, Don Jr was in his element.
He’s here in his capacity as a business leader, promoting his venture, 1789 Capital which claims to be focused on “America First” investments.
But he wasn’t shy about discussing his father’s foreign policy achievements, boasting that Donald Trump had resolved seven or eight wars – conflicts that most ordinary Americans were unaware of.
His pitch is bullish and direct – the current US administration is projecting strength globally, stopping wars and creating investment opportunities which serves the American economy. It’s the MAGA mentality for the global audience.
It’s clear that the rivalry with China is their biggest focus, especially finding ways to combat their dominance over critical minerals.
“America can no longer just sit there and hope that China is going to be a good actor… I think the rest of the world understands that they want America to be at the forefront of all of that.”
When I asked him about recent efforts by President Trump to bring the war in Ukraine to an end, he responded forcefully. “We want peace, we want to stop the death.”
But he went on to say that Europe needed to shoulder the burden and currently they have no plan.
As he sat on the stage in Qatar, the country which has been at the centre of the ceasefire efforts for Gaza, he expressed hope that peace would prevail, but balanced expectations America would fund its re-construction. This would have to be a global effort.
“If there’s one thing my father is, it’s a builder… I think he can be the greatest construction manager in the history of the world, but no one in America wants to bear the entire responsibility of that.”
And, away from international diplomatic efforts, he was happy to announce a breakthrough closer to home.
The “bromance” with Elon Musk and President Trump is back on – calling the entrepreneur a “generational talent, a generational level of genius”.
‘Bromance’ back on
He also confirmed that Tesla billionaire Elon Musk was “100% back in the fold”, after previously appearing to fall out with the president.
Earlier this year, Donald Trump Jr’s investment company, 1789 Capital, heavily invested in some of Musk’s companies, including SpaceX.
Image: Elon Musk and Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House in May. Pic: AP
Directly comparing President Trump with Musk, he said: “Imagine dealing with one Donald Trump – now I have to deal with two.
“They’re very similar that way, so it created some headaches… but the reality is they’re both very much aligned, they’re on message with what we want to do with our country. What we want to do with freedom of speech.”
He went on: “Elon did incredible things for Twitter, really allowed the democratisation of truth and freedom and free speech to occur. That’s something that is a true threat in America right now.”
He also praised Musk as “changing the face of free speech, science and technology”, adding, “we have to protect our geniuses”.
When asked whether Mr Trump would stand for a third term, he joked that he could be “just trolling” those on the left.
He went on, “He’s the most unpredictable person, probably in the history of politics. Which is why he’s able to get something done. We’ll see.”