Apple Suspends News Summaries Over Accuracy Concerns - 1

Image by Tetsuya Tomomastsy, from Unsplash

Apple Suspends News Summaries Over Accuracy Concerns

  • Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
  • Fact-Checked by Justyn Newman Former Lead Cybersecurity Editor

Apple disables Apple Intelligence summaries after botched news headline summaries.

In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!

  • A beta update removes the feature in iOS 18.3.
  • The update applies to all iPhones supporting Apple Intelligence.
  • Apple admits the flaw amid AI struggles with generating accurate information.

Apple is temporarily disabling a key feature of its Apple Intelligence software after it produced inaccurate summaries of news headlines . as reported by The Washington Post .

On Thursday, Apple released a beta update that disables Apple Intelligence summaries for notifications from news and entertainment apps. This update will roll out to all supported iPhones with the upcoming release of iOS 18.3, as reported by The Post.

In the iOS 18.3 beta update, Apple has added a clearer alert about the possibility of unexpected results from notification summaries. To make them stand out, summarized notifications now appear in italics. The update also lets users adjust app notification summary settings directly from the Lock Screen, as reported by The Post.

The move marks a rare acknowledgment of a product flaw by Apple and highlights ongoing challenges tech companies face with generative AI software, which is prone to “hallucinating,” or fabricating information. The Post reports that Apple stated it is working on improvements to the feature and plans to include them in a future software update.

The feature was designed to condense breaking news into alerts for users, has been criticized for generating entirely false claims, leading to calls for its withdrawal. The BBC, among the first to report inaccuracies , highlighted incidents where Apple’s AI summaries misrepresented its news content.

The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) echoed the BBC’s concerns, demanding Apple remove the tool to prevent further misinformation. NUJ General Secretary Laura Davison emphasized the critical need for accurate reporting, stating that misleading AI-generated content undermines public trust .

“Editorial integrity is crucial to our public service broadcaster and AI generated summaries falsely attributing information, risk harm to the reputation of journalists reporting ethically, ” she stated in the NUJ press release.

SpaceX’s Starship Explodes On Test Flight And Caused Flights Diversions - 2

Photo by SpaceX on Unsplash

SpaceX’s Starship Explodes On Test Flight And Caused Flights Diversions

  • Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert
  • Fact-Checked by Justyn Newman Former Lead Cybersecurity Editor

SpaceX launched its Starship rocket on its seventh test flight this Thursday, but the rocket broke apart and burned during its ascent, just minutes after its launch. Multiple flights had to alter their routes due to falling debris from the rocket in the area.

In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!

  • SpaceX’s uncrewed Starship rocket explodes 8 min after its launch on Thursday.
  • The FAA shared a warning, and multiple airlines such as Spirit and JetBlue had to reroute flights to avoid the debris.
  • Many social media users in the Caribbean shared photos and videos.

According to Reuters , the space company lost communication with the rocket 8 minutes after its departure. The ship had no crew, it was carrying mock satellites the company expected to test in space.

“Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly during its ascent burn. Teams will continue to review data from today’s flight test to better understand the root cause,” wrote the company on the social media platform X. “With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will help us improve Starship’s reliability.”

After the explosion, debris fell like shooting stars in the sky over the Caribbean, near Port-au-Prince, leaving also trails of smoke. The Federal Aviation Administration shared a warning for pilots and airlines: “Dangerous area for falling debris of rocket starship.” According to CNBC , many commercial flights from airlines like jetBlue and Spirit had to divert routes.

Many social media users in the Caribbean shared videos and photos of Starship’s debris falling.

Skyfall 💫 Starship rains down from the sky over Turks and Caicos in the most beautiful breakup the universe has ever seen pic.twitter.com/YcoD48WhVg — Mambo Italiano (@mamboitaliano__) January 16, 2025

The Starship rocket is part of SpaceX’s mission to Mars and Elon Musk’s vision to travel to the planet in a few years.