Elon Musk is right about Apple and Google AI deal – and that should worry us

The trouble with the modern-day phenomenon of categorising one’s ideological opponents as Satan/Hitler/insert your pick of either history’s or Hollywood’s worst baddies is that sometimes they’re going to be right.

Take Elon Musk. To be fair, he has been guilty of that sin himself in his tantrums on Twitter, now X. Exhibit A: describing the UK as “fascist”.

However, much as it may rile his haters, the concerns he has expressed about the implications of Google and Apple getting into bed together are entirely valid. On this one, the mega-rich businessman whom many see as the devil incarnate is, awkwardly enough, on the side of the angels.

Apple is planning to call upon Google’s Gemini models for the next generation of Siri and Apple Foundation Models, despite the gazillions it has been pouring into AI itself.

Users may well breathe a sigh of relief, because Siri has become something of a joke. I own multiple Apple devices, yet I never use Siri because, if you’ll forgive me for borrowing American English, it’s garbage.

The company constantly crows about how its latest generation of devices are “powered by Apple intelligence”. Is that really a selling point? Does it genuinely make you feel more inclined to shell out for the latest iPhone? More fool you if it does.

Perhaps someone high up has recognised the problem. Enter Google, whose technology Apple is presumably hoping will fix it via a multi-year deal for an undisclosed sum. It is a much-needed win for Google’s parent company, Alphabet, too. The firm has been pouring money into erasing ChatGPT creator OpenAI’s early lead – an estimated $91bn (£68bn) to $93bn (£69bn) in 2025, according to, um, Google’s AI.

Musk’s response came, inevitably, via X: “This seems like an unreasonable concentration of power for Google, given that they also have Android and Chrome.”

I still find myself wondering how on earth the man finds the time to spend so much of it venting on his social media platform. But that does not mean he is wrong. By his standards, this was a relatively measured and sensible intervention.

Nor is his point diminished by the fact that Musk is himself heavily invested in the AI space through the controversial Grok. I will have more to say about the issues that it has been creating in a future column.

Back to Apple and Google. This is a move that could help cement the latter’s dominance in yet another crucial part of the tech universe.

Alongside Android and Chrome, both mentioned by Musk, Google is also the king of search and digital advertising. It dominates web mapping and is a global superpower in video sharing via YouTube. True, the emergence of TikTok has shown that competition is possible even in markets where network effects inevitably push users towards a single dominant platform.

How long before Google – or Alphabet – morphs into one of the sinister megacorps that play the villain in dystopian books, films and plays, controlling business and politics while poking their nose into every aspect of our lives? The more conspiratorially minded would argue that we are already there.

The antitrust concerns raised by Musk are not the only problem with this deal. Some Apple customers choose the brand because of its stronger reputation for privacy. Here is what Google’s AI says on that subject: “Apple generally offers stronger default privacy with tighter app controls, less data collection by the company, and consistent updates, making it easier for average users.”

Apple insists that its users’ data will be protected, and that Alphabet will not be able to get its mitts on your personal information. Trust the two of us! Things that make you go hmm. Still, the competition issues posed by this tie-up are the bigger concern.

The power of big tech is something regulators have consistently failed to get to grips with, partly, I fear, because of politics. The EU’s attempts to rein it in have repeatedly raised the ire of the US, which often frames efforts to enforce fair play as an attack on America, its companies and its technological leadership – particularly since Donald Trump’s ascension.

Here is Google’s AI on monopolies: “Monopolies are bad because they harm consumers through higher prices, reduced quality, and fewer choices. The lack of competition removes the incentive for companies to innovate or operate efficiently, leading to potential exploitation, stifled economic growth, and excessive market power that can influence policy and suppliers.

“While they can sometimes offer economies of scale, the overall negative effects on consumers and market fairness usually lead to regulation.”

It is hard to argue with that. If Musk’s intervention does prod America’s policymakers into seriously confronting the multitude of antitrust issues big tech continues to create, he will have done us all a good turn. Proof, perhaps, that even a stopped clock tells the right time twice a day.