The innovation bubble around Apple’s artificial intelligence (AI) features in new operating systems appears to be deflating in recent days. The fact that Apple is not ready to publish its own processing models has forced it to rely on agreements with other companies such as Google or OpenAI. However, All AI features that will be introduced in iOS 18 and the rest of the new operating systems will have a wide range of strict security measures to protect user privacy.
Secure Enclave to protect privacy in Apple’s AI functions
Little by little, we are learning more about Apple’s AI plans. Obviously, this is all speculation since we won’t know anything official until June 10, when WWDC24 begins. It is clear that Apple will opt for the arrival of features related to generative AI in a hybrid model based on the execution of functions within the device itself and in the Apple cloud.
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Apple is preparing large server farms assembled with its M2 Ultra and M4 chips, according to The Information, which will be essential to process requests and return the response to the users themselves. These chips will mainly use the concept of Secure enclave which will allow servers to isolate data being processed to avoid being captured by Apple or malicious users. We already know how Secure Enclave works since it is part of a must that all iPhone A chips and the entire Apple Silicon series carry it:
Secure Enclave is isolated from the main processor to provide an additional layer of security and is designed to protect sensitive user data even if the application processor core is compromised. It follows the same design principles as the SoC: a boot ROM to establish a hardware root of trust, an AES engine for efficient and secure cryptographic operations, and protected memory. Although Secure Enclave does not include storage, it has a mechanism to securely store information on attached storage, separate from the NAND flash storage used by the application processor and operating system.
The objective of this entire protection mechanism is ensure that all information is treated in isolation, promote the fact that Apple has access to this information, promote data secrecy and the important principle of the Big Apple to protect users’ digital lives.
