this post was submitted on 10 Jul 2026
390 points (98.3% liked)

Technology

86279 readers
2876 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.


Our Rules


  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related news or articles.
  3. Be excellent to each other!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, this includes using AI responses and summaries. To ask if your bot can be added please contact a mod.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
  10. Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.

Approved Bots


founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Apple on Friday accused OpenAI of stealing secrets about products still in development, setting up a legal face-off between two of the world’s biggest tech companies.

In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the consumer tech giant said that OpenAI, a leader in artificial intelligence that has a new hardware business, had asked job candidates from Apple to share details about secret projects and to bring device components and prototypes to their interviews.

Apple also accused an OpenAI employee of downloading internal documents from a laptop owned by the iPhone maker.

OpenAI used the confidential information to approach Apple’s manufacturing partners, including asking one partner to demonstrate Apple’s technique for finishing metal on its devices, the lawsuit says.

top 47 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] e461h@sh.itjust.works 3 points 12 hours ago

The bottom is finally starting to fall out for OpenAI. Sam has to be so desperate to try things like this. He should be prosecuted for all the stolen data he’s already stolen and the lies he’s told investors. Of course it has to be a tech giant to levy any kind of meaningful penalty. Quite sure Apple would like a piece of the ownership pie despite the likely coming collapse. They have so much cash it does not pose much of a risk.

[–] WhatsHerBucket@lemmy.world 1 points 14 hours ago (2 children)

Apple also accused an OpenAI employee of downloading internal documents from a laptop owned by the iPhone maker.

How does this work exactly?

[–] SalmonTractor@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 12 hours ago

OpenAI employee builds a rapport with an Apple employee on-site. Apple employee leaves laptop unlocked with OpenAI employee in their office and goes to the bathroom. No joke, it's just that simple.

[–] WolfLink@sh.itjust.works 2 points 13 hours ago

They had an accomplice maybe. Or a careless Apple employee left their laptop somewhere. Both of those have been causes of Apple leaks in the past.

[–] DevDave@piefed.social 82 points 2 days ago (3 children)

It's kinda insane to frame OpenAI as remotely equal to Apple with "two of the world's biggest tech companies".

Apple has multiple profitable revenue streams, hundreds of physical stores, that giant donut super villain headquarters, they basically own multiple factory towns in Asia, and on top of it they have an ocean of capital hidden somewhere for a "rainy century" scenario. I think their only consistent loss leader is AppleTv, right?

OpenAI's business is generating something embarrassing like $100 for every $1000 spent (just random exaggerated numbers as sarcasm).

This outrageously dishonest narrative is being pushed constantly everywhere and I am more than just sick of it.

[–] aesthelete@lemmy.world 5 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

It's kinda insane to frame OpenAI as remotely equal to Apple with “two of the world’s biggest tech companies”.

This is kinda like how Tesla is a bigger company than other car companies combined by market cap but has a paltry market percentage and amount of cars sold.

Market caps and valuations run purely on vibes and have for some time now.

[–] DevDave@piefed.social 2 points 5 hours ago

It feels surreal in how unsurprised I am at such rampant fraud. This whole mess is like the Emperor's new clothes was used a blue print and not a cautionary tale.

They're both just hype machines and they both dgaf about the environment.

[–] vane@lemmy.world 23 points 1 day ago

When you're AI company so you can't stop stealing.

[–] Xerxos@lemmy.ml 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

That sounds serious, but I wonder what it is that OpenAI wants from Apple? Currently they are mostly on the software side and Apple's secrets more on the hardware side.

Is it for the rumored physical AI thing they wanted to build?

[–] Alvaro@lemmy.blahaj.zone 19 points 1 day ago

I mean, yes, the entire premise of ChatGPT is "we stole all the data we could to give you really convincing, logically devoid, text generation!"

[–] aeronmelon@lemmy.world 107 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Apple accuses Data Scraper Inc. of scraping data.

[–] CovertOperative@piefed.zip 49 points 2 days ago (3 children)

This appears to go quite a bit beyond scraping data.

[–] anomnom@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I know of a bunch of Apple folks (through a family friend) who went to open AI early on for big pay raises, but said it sucked there and planned to cash out after a year or 2. I wonder if they’re on anyone’s radar. Gonna ask next time I see them.

[–] errer@lemmy.world 17 points 2 days ago

Yeah ironically OpenAI is stealing hardware secrets here it sounds like

[–] badgermurphy@lemmy.world 0 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Youre right; its scraping data owned by someone with lots of money and lawyers.

[–] Thaurin@lemmy.world 13 points 1 day ago (1 children)

This is not about scraping data.

[–] lazynooblet@lazysoci.al 17 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Exactly. Comments from people not reading the article are not uncommon, but these haven't even read the synopsis included in the post.

[–] rottenmummy@lemmy.ml 23 points 1 day ago
[–] magnetosphere@fedia.io 38 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Most of the time, I don’t care about corporate slap fights, but this will be fun to watch.

[–] chaogomu@lemmy.world 35 points 2 days ago (2 children)

If even half the accusations are true, then OpenAI doesn't have a chance in hell of existing at the end of this. The accusation alone might sink the company. They're projected to be completely out of money this time next year, they might have saved it with an IPO, but the general vibe is not optimistic for them, and that was before being accused of blatant industrial espionage of Apple IP.

I have never once given Apple money, and very likely never will, but if they kill OpenAI and pop this bubble then I'll give them a slight nod of respect before I go back to asking pointed questions about why all their factories need suicide nets.

[–] sundray@lemmus.org 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

It might be a long shot but there is a possibility that if they lose, OpenAI just hands the keys over to Apple. I don't know if that would be a good thing or a bad thing.

[–] bjc@scribe.disroot.org 0 points 1 day ago (1 children)

i dunno, apple has a real habit of suing for theft and losing

[–] chaogomu@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Suing as a patent troll, but this sound lass like Apple being Apple, and more like some serious, and highly illegal, industrial espionage from OpenAI and Sam Altman.

Sam Altman built his business on theft, and may very well seriously overstepped here. I also expect a bunch of former Apple employees going to jail over the physical thefts, and that too will cause OpenAI problems because they asked for the thefts, and likely paid the former Apple employees.

[–] busted_Anoose@aussie.zone 1 points 13 hours ago

I feel like no matter who wins, it will be great because both are shit ass companies

[–] vk6flab@lemmy.radio 45 points 2 days ago (1 children)

We're going to need a lot of popcorn.

[–] ccunning@lemmy.world 36 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Fingers crossed for a juicy discovery and not a settlement 🤞

[–] chaogomu@lemmy.world 12 points 2 days ago

The possibile end of the bubble.

[–] ptz@dubvee.org 45 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

Apple on Friday accused OpenAI of stealing

That's pretty much OpenAI's modus operandi, is it not? Like, they've stolen from everyone else on the planet, why did Apple think they were special? It's like they invited the Hamburgler to their BBQ and are shocked when all the sliders disappear.

[–] chiliedogg@lemmy.world 47 points 2 days ago (1 children)

There's scraping data, which should be considered stealing, and then there's asking people to steal company data as part of an interview process.

This is actual industrial espionage. If true, it could be a big deal.

[–] MrKoyun@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

I fucking hope it is.

[–] Brkdncr@lemmy.world 21 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Apple is very litigious when it comes to their products, and has the capital and the best lawyers in the world available for them to call on.

The legal fees on this will cost millions.

[–] eestileib@sh.itjust.works 4 points 2 days ago

They ended up losing to Google on touch screens, but this seems like way more of a problem.

[–] MadMadBunny@lemmy.ca 20 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)
[–] Zarobi@aussie.zone 11 points 2 days ago (1 children)
[–] matt1126@feddit.uk 4 points 1 day ago

Surprise Dungeon Soup!

[–] DataCrime@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 1 day ago

It was totally the AI guys… It’s evolving so fast even we can’t comprehend it. It’s totally not one of our engineers.

Apple is just pissed nobody’s going for enhanced intelligence.

[–] tias@discuss.tchncs.de -3 points 2 days ago

Oh no!

Anyway...