Apple is taking OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, to court, accusing it of building its plans for an AI device of its own on stolen Apple secrets. The story starts with two former Apple engineers who left for OpenAI and, according to the lawsuit, took with them designs and technical details for products that had not even hit the market: one kept his company laptop and downloaded confidential documents, the other told colleagues to bring components to their OpenAI interviews, and the company allegedly even approached Apple suppliers claiming it had Apple’s permission. The most surreal part? ChatGPT is built into the iPhone, meaning Apple is suing the company whose chatbot it sells inside its own phones. Now the dispute is escalating: Apple is asking the court to stop OpenAI from building its device, and OpenAI is responding publicly that it “does not have, nor wants, any of their trade secrets”, calling the lawsuit “careless and oddly personal” and publishing private emails to make its case. At stake is not just who is right, but who wins the race for the AI devices we will wear or hold in our hands.
