Apple blocks update to email app with ChatGPT tech

Apple has blocked an update to the BlueMail email app that uses a customized version of OpenAI’s GPT-3 language model, according to Ben Volach, co-founder of app developer Blix.

“Apple has blocked the BlueMail update and continues to treat BlueMail unfairly and to discriminate against us. Other GPT-powered apps seem not to be restricted,” Volach told Reuters.

Apple, which rejected the update last week, asked Blix to revise the app’s age rating for those over 17 or implement content filtering, according to a document viewed by Reuters. Blix claims that many other apps with similar features listed on Apple’s app store do not have age restrictions.

“We want fair­ness. If we’re re­quired to be 17-plus, then oth­ers should also have to,” Volach tweeted.

Apple looked into the complaint and said that developers have the option to challenge a rejection through the App Review Board process.

OpenAI’s ChatGPT has attracted the tech industry, with Microsoft announcing billions of dollars worth of investment in it. Alphabet’s Google has also announced its own AI chatbot Bard in February.

The field of AI-powered chatbots is still emerging, with early search results and conversations making headlines for their unpredictability. BusinessToday