Apple faces calls to remove new AI notification feature on iPhones after it generated inaccurate news summaries

• Apple is facing backlash over one of its new Apple Intelligence features in iOS 18.2.
• The feature meant to summarize iPhone notifications inaccurately summarized some news alerts.
• Nonprofit Reporters Without Borders has called for Apple to remove the generative AI feature.

Apple is facing backlash over one of its newest generative AI features.

The feature, available in the latest iOS 18.2 update, summarizes groups of notifications from an app on a user's iPhone to give them a quick rundown of what they missed at a glance.

Users, however, have pointed out at least two instances of it providing inaccurate information when attempting to summarize notifications from news organizations.

In one case, the summary falsely claimed the BBC reported that Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, had killed himself. Mangione is alive and was extradited to New York on Thursday.

In another instance, the feature wrongly summarized a New York Times article to say that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been arrested. The NYT article actually reported that the International Criminal Court had issued a warrant for Netanyahu's arrest, not that he had been arrested.

The nonprofit Reporters Without Borders has called on Apple to remove the feature.

"AIs are probability machines, and facts can't be decided by a roll of the dice," said Vincent Berthier, the head of the group's technology and journalism desk, in a public statement this week. "The automated production of false information attributed to a media outlet is a blow to the outlet's credibility and a danger to the public's right to reliable information on current affairs."

Apple, the BBC, the NYT, and Reporters Without Borders did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

A spokesperson from the BBC previously said the organization has filed a complaint with Apple "to raise this concern and fix the problem."

"It is essential to us that our audiences can trust any information or journalism published in our name and that includes notifications," the spokesperson previously said.