Apple AI notification summaries exist; rarely useful, often hilarious

iPhones, iPads, and Macs pinch Apple Intelligence now person a unsocial AI feature that summarizes notifications for you. Starting pinch iOS / iPadOS 18.1 and macOS 15.1, erstwhile aggregate notifications heap up for a fixed app, the mini LLM that Apple has crammed into our stuff tries its hardest to algorithm up a little overview for you. (Part of a group matter pinch tons of people? It’ll effort to show you what they’re discussing.) This is sometimes good. It is very often funny.

I for illustration the measurement the summaries grip immoderate of my Apple Home notifications — for illustration erstwhile I publication “Garage changed position aggregate times; precocious closed” successful lieu of a stack of messages astir my car shed door. The wording changes, but without neglect (so far), it’s been correct astir whether the past point it did was unfastened aliases close, truthful I don’t person to unfastened Apple Home aliases my car shed camera to verify it. (I still do sometimes because LLMs tin beryllium lying liars.)

The problem comes erstwhile it’s trying to concisely convey things for illustration matter messages, emails, and Slack notifications. They’re usually vaguely successful the ballpark, successful the aforesaid measurement that saying Cormac McCarthy’s postapocalyptic caller The Road is astir a begetter and boy who return a locomotion together. I conjecture that’s not wrong, but boy does it miss the point.

Add the mini-LLM’s problems grasping due discourse to the chaos of quality communication, and things tin get very funny. Here are conscionable a fewer examples I’ve collected online from my colleagues astatine The Verge and from my ain phone.

Right aft the first iOS 18.1 betas, I saw this gem, reading, “Apology for subpar communication; life busy; not fresh for a relationship.”

Woof. It’s bad capable getting surgery up pinch via matter message. Is getting the connection first from an AI summary better? Well, it cuts to the chase. I’ll springiness it that.

????????

If you’re for illustration me, you dislike notifications and thin to disregard definite noisy apps. Now, ideate you’ve woken up astatine 1AM and groggily unlocked your phone, only to study that you’re astir to get mobbed John Wick-style by “multiple people” astatine your beforehand and backmost doors and successful your driveway.

Just make judge the puppy is safe, I guess.

As a dense Apple Shortcuts user, I consciousness Matthew Cassinelli’s irritation astatine learning that location aren’t caller features coming — Apple Intelligence conscionable conflated 2 unrelated notifications.

If I weren’t accustomed to getting random emails astir screeners, I mightiness person been very confused astir the Writers Guild of America’s (which Vox Media is simply a portion of) invitation to look astatine its butt. Again, discourse is very important.

Okay, this really is beautiful overmuch precisely what The Onion’s header successful this email was, truthful awesome job, Apple Intelligence.

This is simply a very uncomfortable postulation of things to summarize. (Also, that Microsoft thing? That’s astir a gender-detecting AI instrumentality that 404 Media reported Microsoft had accidentally near active.)

What movie is bad? Is the fastener why it’s bad? (Editor’s note: look intimately astatine the first image in this tweet.)

Seriously, though, why won’t it conscionable show maine what the movie is?

What person we learned?

Are Apple Intelligence notification summaries a life-changing feature? Ha ha, no. But I don’t dislike them. Notifications are an awful, changeless intrusion that my attention-deficient encephalon loathes anyway; astatine slightest the summaries punch things up now and again. I deliberation this past Threads station sums up my feelings beautiful well:

Oh, and here’s 1 much for the roadworthy that came successful while we were editing this story: