The Evening: Apple enters the A.I. race

Also, the F.D.A.'s advisers endorsed a new Alzheimer's drug.
The Evening

June 10, 2024

Good evening. Here's the latest at the end of Monday.

  • An A.I. makeover for iPhones
  • Blinken's talks on a Gaza cease-fire
  • Plus, a five-day friendship challenge
Tim Cook, the chief executive of Apple, speaking against a black background with the Apple logo.
Tim Cook, the chief executive of Apple, today. Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

Apple entered the A.I. fray

After lagging behind its rivals in the artificial intelligence race for the last two years, Apple today announced that its smartphones would soon feature several tools powered by generative A.I.

Apple's A.I. system will offer a rebuilt version of Siri that the company said will be capable of following a conversation. The technology will also be able to write, proofread, create images and write software code across applications. For requests that it can't handle — for example, plan a dinner with just a list of several ingredients — users can direct the request to OpenAI instead. Apple struck a deal with the company to support its A.I. endeavor.

"These are the most ambitious changes that Apple has made to the iPhone in the past decade," said my colleague Tripp Mickle, who has been reporting on the company for many years.

Apple's move will test whether the tech giant can once again enter a new market and redefine it — as it did with the iPod, the iPhone and the Apple Watch. One advantage the company has is its massive mainstream user base, Tripp said.

"Despite Silicon Valley's rush to embrace A.I., the technology hasn't yet been at the fingertips of billions of users everyday," Tripp told me. "Apple plans to change that overnight this fall with a suite of new tools that can be summoned with a tap of a button."

For more: Your smartphone is going to change soon. This is how.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken walks down the boarding stairs of an airplane.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Egypt before traveling to Israel. Pool photo by Amr Nabil

Blinken tours the Mideast to push for a deal

Secretary of State Antony Blinken met today with the Israeli prime minister in Jerusalem, just hours after he sat down in Cairo with Egypt's president, a key mediator in the talks between Israel and Hamas. Blinken said his message to governments in the Middle East was that if they wanted a cease-fire, they should press Hamas to "say yes" to Israel's latest proposal. He also similarly pressed Israel on the deal, which it has yet to formally embrace.

Peace prospects may have become more complicated over the weekend. Benny Gantz, a centrist Israeli leader, pulled his party out of the country's wartime government. Israel's military also carried out a raid on Saturday in which four hostages were rescued and dozens of people were killed, including women and children.

In related news, the U.N. Security Council voted to approve a U.S.-led resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire and the release of hostages.

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European People's Party, speaks on a podium as she is flanked by young people carrying placards.
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission. Piroschka Van De Wouw/Reuters

The center holds, for now, in E.U. elections

Europe's mainstream conservatives, the European People's Party, performed strongly and finished first in the European Parliament elections this weekend, according to preliminary results. It was a sign that the party's strategy to integrate more right-leaning policies in an effort to stop voters from shifting to further-right rivals had worked.

Still, far-right parties with nationalist and anti-immigration agendas surged in France and in Germany. AfD, the German ultranationalist party that has been designated a "suspected" extremist group by the German authorities, soared to second place. In France, Marine Le Pen's right-wing party scored twice the support of the centrist coalition. In response, President Emmanuel Macron called for snap legislative elections — a huge gamble.

An illustration of a seated figure, whose brain is portrayed by a lattice of intersecting, curving lines and bright blue spots. A pole with an intravenous bag is partly in frame.
Dadu Shin

F.D.A. advisers endorsed a new Alzheimer's drug

A committee of independent advisers to the Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously today that the benefits of the newest experimental drug for Alzheimer's disease far outweigh the risks.

The F.D.A. usually follows the advice of the agency's advisory committees but not always.

In clinical trials, the drug, called donanemab, modestly slowed cognitive decline in patients in the early stages of the disease. It also had significant safety risks, including swelling and bleeding in the brain. A similar drug, lecanemab, has already been approved. My colleagues talked with doctors about how patients have been responding to it.

More top news

TIME TO UNWIND

An illustration of a person with a butterfly on their hand, a person holding flowers in front of their face, a person looking down at a jar with a firefly in it, and a person watering a small evergreen tree.
Anna Parini

Give your friendships a tuneup

Each day this week, my colleagues on the Well desk will offer science-backed strategies to help revive fizzling friendships and deepen your close ties. Start the five-day friendship challenge by taking our quiz to discover your friendship style.

Then dive into today's challenge, which can be just as powerful as it is counterintuitive: Pick up your phone.

You can sign up here to take part in the friendship challenge.

A black-and-white close-up of Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
Philip Montgomery for The New York Times

The darker side of Julia Louis-Dreyfus

At 63, Julia Louis-Dreyfus says she is still trying to prove herself. Her most famous roles, in "Seinfeld" and "Veep," are comedic master classes, but in recent years she's gravitated toward more serious work. My colleague Lulu Garcia-Navarro caught up with Louis-Dreyfus in a lengthy interview about her career path and the release of her newest film, "Tuesday."

"I'm certain nobody would have considered me for that role 20 years ago," Louis-Dreyfus said. "That's probably because they just thought of me only as a 'ha-ha' funny person."

Check out the full interview.

Several young actors perform a fight scene for the play version of the
A scene from "The Outsiders."  Amir Hamja/The New York Times

Dinner table topics

WHAT TO DO TONIGHT

A cast-iron skillet is filled with white beans, grees and four roasted red bell peppers.
Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Hadas Smirnoff.

Cook: Roasted red peppers pair with beans and greens in this endlessly adaptable dish.

Watch: Our latest sci-fi picks include alienoids, bionic athletes and a little creature named Godzilla.

Read: These twisty thrillers will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Protect: If you're worried about microplastics, there are some simple steps you can take to limit your exposure.

Celebrate: During Pride Month, a flurry of New York shows highlight queer stories.

Rest: Here are five cheap(ish) things to help keep your bedroom cool during the summer heat.

Compete: Take this week's Flashback history quiz.

Play: Here are today's Spelling Bee, Wordle and Mini Crossword. Find all of our games here.

ONE LAST THING

An adult elephant matriarch and two calves walk through the tall grass under a blue sky dotted with clouds.
"Hey Margaret, how's the grass over there?" George Wittemyer/George Wittemyer, via Associated Press

These elephants are on a first-name basis

Elephants' low-pitched rumbles are difficult for humans to differentiate. But when a group of scientists put hundreds of the murmurs through machine-learning software, they found evidence to suggest that the animals were referring to each other by name. Take a listen.

Some animals, like dolphins and parrots, use imitations of sounds made by other individuals as names. But in a study published today, scientists suggested that elephants could be the first nonhuman animals known to call one another by names as humans understand them, based on abstract sounds.

Have a sociable evening.

Thanks for reading. I'll be back tomorrow. — Matthew

Phil Pacheco was our photo editor today.

We welcome your feedback. Write to us at evening@nytimes.com.

Evening Briefing Newsletter Logo

Writer: Matthew Cullen

Editorial Director: Adam Pasick

Editors: Carole Landry, Whet Moser, Justin Porter, Jonathan Wolfe

Photo Editor: Brent Lewis

Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance.

You received this email because you signed up for The Evening from The New York Times.

To stop receiving The Evening, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings. To opt out of updates and offers sent from The Athletic, submit a request.

Subscribe to The Times

Connect with us on:

facebooktwitterinstagram

Change Your EmailPrivacy PolicyContact UsCalifornia Notices

LiveIntent LogoAdChoices Logo

The New York Times Company. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018

HOY EN ALBANIA