Apple Is Reportedly Using Prompt Engineering For Its AI Features, New macOS Beta Reveals: 'You Are A Helpful Mail Assistant…'

Hidden AI prompts from Apple Inc. AAPL have been discovered in the latest macOS beta, shedding light on the tech giant’s efforts to enhance accuracy and prevent hallucinations in its Apple Intelligence suite.

What Happened: A Reddit user found pre-prompt instructions embedded in Apple’s developer beta for macOS 15.1. These instructions offer a rare glimpse into the backend of Apple’s AI features, such as the Smart Reply feature in Apple Mail and the Memories feature in Apple Photos.

The prompts are designed to prevent Apple Intelligence from generating false information, known as hallucination, and to ensure the content produced is appropriate and user-friendly.

For instance, the AI for the Smart Reply feature is programmed to identify relevant questions from an email and generate concise answers.

"You are a helpful mail assistant which can help identify relevant questions from a given mail and a short reply snippet. Given a mail and the reply snippet, ask relevant questions which are explicitly asked in the mail," an excerpt from Apple's hidden AI prompt.

Apple did not immediately respond to Benzinga's request for comment.

See Also: Tim Cook Admits He Has Doubts About Apple’s Ability To Prevent AI Hallucinations: ‘I Would Never Claim That It’s 100%’

The Memories feature in Apple Photos, which creates video stories from user photos, follows another set of detailed guidelines. The AI is instructed to generate stories that are positive and free of any controversial or harmful content.

Apart from the guardrails to make sure the AI feature generates concise and unharmful content, Apple has also put in checks to prevent hallucination, according to the prompts highlighted by the Reddit user.

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Apple Intelligence is set to officially roll out in iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1 later this year, with new features expected to be introduced through updates until 2025. Apple has pushed out a preview version with the latest iOS 18.1 developer beta.

Why It Matters: Apple Intelligence was first announced by CEO Tim Cook at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June 2024. The AI system was then showcased in the iOS 18.1 developer beta in July, ahead of Apple’s Q3 earnings.

Despite a 1% year-over-year decline in iPhone revenue, Cook expressed excitement over the transformative capabilities of Apple Intelligence during the company’s third-quarter earnings call.

With the discovery of these hidden AI prompts, it is clear that Apple is taking steps to ensure the accuracy and user-friendliness of its AI features.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

Photo courtesy: Apple