During WWDC, Apple is set to reveal its AI strategy as part of the iOS 18 and other operating system updates. According to previous reports from Bloomberg and other sources, the company intends to utilize a mix of on-device and server processing.
Nevertheless, the handling of user data on Apple’s server infrastructure raises privacy issues, particularly given Apple’s long-standing emphasis on on-device processing. Today, The Information details Apple’s proposed solution to deliver powerful AI processing capabilities in its cloud while upholding stringent privacy standards.
Apple is planning to utilize confidential computing techniques to enable “black box processing,” according to The Information report. Unlike typical cloud services that only encrypt data when it’s stored on disk, Apple’s approach ensures that user data remains private throughout the processing phase.
The company has enhanced its Secure Enclave designs to enable this programming model, as mentioned in Bloomberg’s ACDC project. While there are potential weaknesses if hackers gain physical access to Apple’s server hardware, the overall approach is more secure than what Apple’s rivals are doing in the AI space.
This level of security would allow Apple to refuse law enforcement requests for user data, as the company would not have access to the information. The confidential computing initiative has been in development for at least three years and has short-term uses for enabling AI functionality in iOS 18, as well as longer-term plans for lightweight wearable devices that offload processing to Apple’s backend.
However, the exact details of how this will work and how the security model will be preserved in a multi-user environment remain unclear.
Apple’s current capacity for Apple Silicon cloud computing scale remains unclear, and it is possible that the initial launch may have limitations. Reports suggest that Apple has recently begun integrating M2 Ultra chips into its cloud, with plans to transition to M4 in the future. More information on this is expected to be revealed in the coming weeks, as Apple’s WWDC conference is set to begin on June 10, where the company will officially introduce its AI strategy for the first time.
