Apple’s Senior AI Executive Robby Walker Leaving the Company

Staff Reporter | PNN:

On Sunday, September 12, it was reported that Robby Walker, Apple’s most senior artificial intelligence (AI) executive, is leaving the company, according to a Bloomberg News report citing sources.

Walker’s resignation comes at a time when concerns have emerged over Apple’s cautious approach to AI, especially amid perceptions that the company is falling behind in one of the industry’s largest growth opportunities.

Walker served as the Senior Director of Apple’s “Answers, Information, and Knowledge” team. He held this position since April of this year and had been with Apple since 2013. Until the beginning of this year, he was responsible for managing the voice assistant Siri, a responsibility later handed over to Software Chief Craig Federighi.

Recently, other Apple AI executives have also joined Meta Platforms, including Apple’s top AI model executive Roaming Pang, and researchers Mark Lee and Tom Gunther.

According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, Mike Rockwell, Vice President of the Vision Products Group, will now oversee the Siri virtual assistant. A Bloomberg report in March indicated that CEO Cook is not fully satisfied with AI Chief John Giannandrea’s product development execution.

Apple recently unveiled a new iPhone lineup, a slimmer iPhone Air, and other devices at its annual product launch event. However, the company provided very little information about its progress in AI, while Google showcased the capabilities of its Gemini AI model.