Apple is right. Technology needs to disappear

Apple executives rejected the engagement-driven design of most AI chatbots, stating their Siri AI is designed to discourage prolonged use and avoid romantic or sycophantic interactions. The company's philosophy, exemplified by features like Screen Time and Focus modes, aims to reduce screen time and prioritize real-world experiences over digital engagement.

What is an AI chatbot’s output? What does it make ? Neither fun, nor art, nor connection, nor productivity. It’s certainly not a deeper understanding of the world, based on the hallucinated misinformation bots have firehosed into our lives. The answer, rather, is long-term dependence; or, to use the positive verbiage of social media companies, “engagement.” Use of AI is designed to beget more use of AI, and anything else is incidental. That, at least, is the nature of chatbots in general, but some companies would claim to be exceptions. Such as Apple, whose senior execs last week gave an interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoUnUYAFNEU with the tech podcast Mostly Human in which they contrasted their newly unveiled Siri AI with the engagement-thirsty approach taken by other AI services. “If you use many of the existing chatbots, they’re really focused on engagement to a large degree, and sycophancy, right?” said Craig Federighi. “They want to pull you in. They might encourage you to reveal things about yourself and then use that as a basis to establish a connection. And we view it quite the opposite.” The funny thing is that this bold rejection of a near-universal AI strategy wasn’t made in response to a broad question about the state of the industry. It was in response to the interviewer, Laurie Segall, asking if Siri AI can be used as a romantic partner. “We view it quite the opposite,” Federighi went on. “The way that we have designed Siri, Siri really wants to say, ‘Listen, that’s not what I’m here for. I’m here to help you. I can help you learn about the world.’ But if you try to engage Siri as a romantic partner, Siri’s not up for that.” So romance is off the table, but that’s not where the conversation ends. Apple’s approach to cyber-intimacy is part of a wider philosophy about the nature of technology, about the utility of things that aren’t “sexy,” as Segall puts it, and the danger of things that are. “I don’t think the sexy part belongs in your computer,” Federighi responds, conjuring up an alarming image. “It belongs in your life.” The fact is that technology, and AI in particular, risks forming too large a part of our existence and getting in the way of things that matter. AI chases engagement, but it’s scarcely alone in doing so. Smartphones are incredibly efficient machines for swallowing up human attention; social media algorithms are constantly iterating more and more sophisticated methods to turn lust, rage, and misinformation into engagement, and then into money. Many parents and some legislators find these developments troubling, particularly in regard to their effects on children, but the tech giants have the money and the lobbyists to resist most efforts at substantive change. And yet Apple remains apart. Whether or not we believe the spiel, it claims not to want engagement. Indeed, it may be the first tech company to actively discourage use of its tech. Back in 2018, at another WWDC in a very different time, Apple launched iOS 12. This included a new feature called Screen Time, which tracked usage of apps and app categories and enabled the user to impose time, purchase, and other usage limits. “I’ve been using it, and I have to tell you, I thought I was fairly disciplined about this. And I was wrong,” Cook admitted https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/05/apple-ceo-tim-cook-thought-he-was-good-about-screen-time-but-was-wrong.html at the time. “I was spending a lot more time than I should.” The feature was explicitly designed to encourage Apple’s customers to spend less time looking at their iPhones. The iPhone’s Focus modes https://www.macworld.com/article/350446/how-to-ios-15-set-up-customize-focus-modes-iphone.html , too, have a peculiarly anti-engagement objective. They are designed to filter notifications and reduce distractions. They want you to focus on parts of your life which don’t revolve around a screen: working out, sleep, your personal life. If the modes work as designed, they lower the time you spend engaging with your device, or ensure that you engage with it in a more mindful, limited, task-oriented way. This, if you’re a tech billionaire, is breaking all the rules. But Apple can get away with it because its business model doesn’t depend on users looking at adverts or giving up their data. The company is showing a growing and worrying interest in that side of things, but it’s not fundamental to how it does business. It knows that building features to help its customers to live healthy and happy lives, rather than sucking them into a digital hellscape and refusing to let them leave, is the path to long-term success. And that technology’s job is to help our lives, not to rule them. “We like when technology disappears, right?” said Greg Joswiak later in the interview. “You just focus on what you want to do or you focus on the content.” The technology isn’t the point. The point is what the technology can do, and how best it can serve the user. And making users’ lives better may best be served by removing technology from the equation entirely. Foundry Welcome to our weekly Apple Breakfast column, which includes all the Apple news you missed last week in a handy bite-sized roundup. We call it Apple Breakfast because we think it goes great with a Monday morning cup of coffee or tea, but it’s cool if you want to give it a read during lunch or dinner hours too. Apple’s OS 27 releases are out of the ordinary https://www.macworld.com/article/3162650/apples-os-27-releases-are-out-of-the-ordinary-in-a-good-way.html –in a good way. The best thing about iOS 27 isn’t a feature. It’s that Apple finally figured out how to make old iPhones faster https://www.macworld.com/article/3160623/apple-finally-figured-out-how-to-make-old-iphones-faster.html . Marvel at over 250 fixes and improvements https://www.macworld.com/article/3159978/marvel-at-over-250-fixes-and-improvements-coming-in-the-apple-updates-this-fall.html coming to your Apple devices this fall. Apple’s Passwords app got one of the best new AI features https://www.macworld.com/article/3160935/apple-finally-got-rid-of-my-biggest-password-headache.html at WWDC 2026. This could be revolutionary. Did Apple save the best parts https://www.macworld.com/article/3161291/did-apple-save-the-best-parts-of-the-os-27-updates-for-september.html of the OS 27 updates for September? Maybe. The market hates Siri AI , so it must be good, says the Macalope https://www.macworld.com/article/3159985/its-apples-ai-party-and-were-all-invited.html . The WWDC26 keynote was filled with AI. What do we think about the new features in the xOS 27 software? That’s in the latest episode https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bb3yZ1Ux9JY of the Macworld Podcast. You can catch every episode of the Macworld Podcast on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@MacworldPodcast , Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/3uyZkE4tjbwNNrJCLsBUAM , Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/macworld , the Podcasts app https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id563933198 , or our own site https://www.macworld.com/opinion/podcast . Report: Apple’s touchscreen MacBook is “100% confirmed.” https://www.macworld.com/article/3163623/report-apples-touchscreen-macbook-is-100-confirmed.html Felipe Esposito’s favorite Android feature just landed on the iPhone https://www.macworld.com/article/3162167/my-favorite-android-feature-just-landed-on-my-iphone-and-im-in-love.html and he’s in love. macOS 27 warning: Your Intel apps are nearly dead https://www.macworld.com/article/3162408/macos-27-warning-your-intel-apps-are-nearly-dead.html . Apple might finally start to clean up the junk https://www.macworld.com/article/3163621/apple-might-finally-start-to-clean-up-the-junk-clogging-the-app-store.html clogging the App Store . And with that, we’re done for this week’s Apple Breakfast. If you’d like to get regular roundups, sign up for our newsletters https://www.macworld.com/newsletters/signup , including our new email from The Macalope–an irreverent, humorous take on the latest news and rumors from a half-man, half-mythical Mac beast. You can also follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Macworld/ , Threads https://www.threads.net/@macworld hq , Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/macworld.com , or X https://x.com/macworld for discussion of breaking Apple news stories. See you next Monday, and stay Appley.