The billionaire circus: Musk, the bitten apple and ChatGPT
It seems that in the league of technological super-millionaires, lawsuits are the new favorite pastime. Elon Musk, the man who wants to colonize Mars but can’t stand the competition on Earth, has decided that the Texas judicial system needs more excitement. So, last Monday, it filed a 61-page antitrust lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI. The reason? It alleges that the maker of the iPhone and the creator of ChatGPT are plotting a nice little union to upset the competition in the lucrative world of artificial intelligence. Because, of course, in Musk’s mind, if you can’t beat them, sue them.
This legal gem follows a threat Musk issued two weeks ago, because in the world of eccentric geniuses, the lawsuit is announced first and then filed. He accused Apple of blatantly favoring OpenAI and its beloved ChatGPT in the iPhone App Store rankings for top AI apps. Musk’s post implied, with the subtlety of a hammer, that Apple had manipulated the system against ChatGPT competitors, such as its own chatbot, Grok, created by his company xAI. Now, it has decided to detail all of its complaints in a document filed by xAI and another of its entities, X Corp., in a noble attempt to obtain monetary damages and a court order. Because nothing says “innovation” like a good legal fight.
The epic narrative of two monopolists and a conspiracy
The double-edged legal attack weaves together several narratives that have been developing, reframing a year-long partnership between Apple and OpenAI as a covert conspiracy to stifle competition. According to the lawsuit, this is comparable to a technological change as revolutionary as the launch of the iPhone in 2007. Of course, because a software integration is exactly the same as reinventing mobile telephony. “This is a story of two monopolists coming together to ensure their continued dominance in a world rapidly driven by the most powerful technology humanity has created: artificial intelligence,” the lawsuit states. It sounds like a trailer for a Marvel movie, but with less action and more roles.
The complaint portrays Apple as a company that views AI as an “existential threat” to its future success, leading it to collude with OpenAI in an attempt to protect the iPhone franchise, which has long been its largest source of revenue. Because who wouldn’t want to protect a business that makes you billions? Some of the accusations against Apple of trying to protect the iPhone from do-it-all “super apps,” like the one Musk is trying to create with X, curiously resonate with an antitrust lawsuit filed against Apple last year by the U.S. Department of Justice. What a coincidence, right?
Meanwhile, the complaint presents OpenAI as a threat to humanity, bent on putting profit over public safety. This representation mirrors one already drawn in another federal lawsuit that Musk filed last year, alleging that OpenAI had betrayed its founding mission to serve as a nonprofit research laboratory for the public good. Because if there is something that Elon Musk values, it is the purity of altruistic intentions. OpenAI has responded with a lawsuit against Musk accusing him of harassment, an allegation the company cited in its response to Monday’s antitrust lawsuit. “This recent filing is consistent with Mr. Musk’s ongoing pattern of harassment,” OpenAI said in a statement. Apple, for its part, has remained elegantly silent, probably too busy counting money.
The Core of the Absurd: Answer Engines and Invaluable Data
The heart of the matter revolves around Apple’s decision to use ChatGPT as an AI-powered “answer engine” on the iPhone when the technology built into its device could not meet users’ needs. Wow, what a surprise, a tech giant that outsources because its own product isn’t up to par. The partnership announced last year was part of Apple’s late entry into the AI race that was supposed to be driven primarily by its own on-device technology, but the company has yet to deliver on all of its promises. Who would have thought? Promising is easy, executing not so much.
Apple’s own shortcomings in AI may be driving greater use of ChatGPT on the iPhone, providing OpenAI with invaluable data that is not available to Grok and other potential competitors because, surprise surprise, it is currently an exclusive partnership. The alliance has provided Apple with an incentive to improperly elevate ChatGPT in the iPhone App Store’s AI rankings, the lawsuit alleges. Ironically, other AI apps from DeekSeek and Perplexity have periodically reached the top spot in Apple’s App Store AI rankings in at least some parts of the world since Apple announced its deal with ChatGPT. But who needs facts when you have a good conspiracy theory?
The lawsuit, conveniently, does not mention the possible threat that ChatGPT could also pose to Apple and the future popularity of the iPhone. As part of its expansion efforts, OpenAI recruited former Apple designer Jony Ive to oversee a project aimed at building an AI-powered device that many analysts believe could eventually challenge the iPhone. Wow, what an unexpected twist. Maybe, just maybe, this lawsuit has more to do with Musk’s fear of being left out of the game than a genuine concern for fair competition.
Isn’t it incredible how the titans of technology become entangled in these epic battles while deciding the future of artificial intelligence? Share this story on your social networks and help us spread the absurd spectacle. And if you want more analysis on the corporate dramas shaping our digital world, explore more of our related content. Comedy, it seems, is guaranteed.
