- By Shiona McCallum
- Technology reporter
image source, Getty Images
Apple said it will not automatically change one of the most popular swear words to “ducking”.
The autocorrect feature, which has long frustrated users, will soon be able to use artificial intelligence to detect if you really mean to use that expletive.
“For those moments when you want to type a word staccato, well, the keyboard will learn it, too,” said software chief Craig Federighi.
The development was announced at the Apple Developers Conference in California.
iPhone users have often complained about how autocorrect forces them to retype their own messages — with the term “fuck you autocorrect” becoming an acronym, a meme, an Instagram account, and even a song.
Changes in functionality will happen thanks to the use of the adapter model, which learns context by tracing relationships in the data, such as the words in this sentence, using mathematical techniques.
Initially marked in file 2017 Paper from Google, Transformers are one of the most powerful classes of AI models, and autosuggestion systems — or predictive text — are starting to become more prevalent.
The autocorrect change will be part of iOS 17 upgrades that are expected to be available as a public beta in July, with a public release in September.
That should mean that iPadOS 17 also carries the new functionality.
Elsewhere at the developer conference, Apple has unveiled its augmented reality headset, the Apple Vision Pro which will retail for $3,499 (£2,849).
Apple CEO Tim Cook said the new headset “seamlessly blends the real world with the virtual world.”
It will be available early next year in the US and other countries later in 2024.
On Monday, Apple’s market valuation came to just under $3 trillion — a new record for the company.
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