Apple warns that AI agents may act unpredictably, potentially bringing litigation and reputational risks

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Cailian Press, Huang Junzhi; Editor: Lin Qi, 2026-11-04 07:55

① Apple stated in its annual financial filing that artificial intelligence agents capable of acting in "unexpected or unpredictable ways" may pose a threat to its business; ② the company's ability to oversee and control third-party AI agents and other technologies may be limited; ③ currently, regulations surrounding artificial intelligence and "superintelligence" are changing rapidly and are difficult to predict.

Cailian Press, November 4 (Editor: Huang Junzhi) — Apple said in its annual financial filing on Tuesday that artificial intelligence (AI) agents capable of acting in "unexpected or unpredictable ways" may pose a threat to its business, because this could expose the company to litigation or damage its reputation.

It is reported that the new risk factors listed in Apple's filing demonstrate the disruptive potential of AI agents, which have rapidly become a matter of great concern to major Silicon Valley companies.

Apple wrote in the filing: "In particular, AI agents and other technologies can take actions autonomously, including interacting with internal or external systems (in some cases, they may not be authorized to access those systems), executing or changing code, sending communications, and completing transactions."

The company added that agents "may act in unexpected or unpredictable ways, including taking actions without instruction, guidance, or authorization."

Earlier this year, OpenAI released Dots, and Meta launched Muse. Both AI agents use advanced AI models to complete tasks autonomously. They can even notify users via email or reminders when new messages arrive.

On the other hand, agents' ability to use computers in a human-like way is forcing large companies such as Amazon and JPMorgan to establish policies around agent access to services for strategic or security reasons. Last month, Apple announced changes to full disk access permissions on Mac computers to reduce the risks "associated with such access permissions" for AI agents installed on PCs.

Apple warned in the filing: "The company's ability to oversee and control third-party AI agents and other technologies may be limited."

Apple currently does not have agentic AI. But on Monday's earnings call, when new CEO John Ternus was asked about AI agents, he responded that the company still has "a lot of room" to expand Siri's capabilities.

"In terms of agentic capabilities, we think these are very promising tools for users," Ternus said. "We just want to make sure users are clear about what access permissions they are granting. We want to ensure that the way this is granted protects security and privacy."

This fall, Apple released Siri AI, a new assistant that uses the iPhone's local data storage to access data such as calendars and email, but Apple's Siri cannot work autonomously for extended periods like Dots or Muse.

Ternus said Apple cannot access private data on its devices, calling this Apple's "core differentiating advantage." Commercial AI agents launched by companies such as OpenAI and Meta require high-level access to user accounts (such as email) in order to provide more useful functions.

Finally, Apple said that regulations surrounding artificial intelligence and "superintelligence" are currently changing rapidly and are difficult to predict, and that adapting to new AI laws may require significant spending.

"In addition, the company also faces risks arising from ethical issues and negative consumer perceptions related to automation, artificial intelligence, and superintelligence, including potential concerns about safety or social harm and other complex issues," the filing said.

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