MacOS Forces LLM Feature

2025-03-19

What Happened

1. I got a new Apple laptop and turned off the Siri and Apple Intelligence features.
2. I updated macOS and was forced to click a button.
   1. I updated my new M4 MacBook Pro from macOS Sequoia 15.3.1 to 15.3.2.
   2. After installing the update, the OS restarted and showed this dialog:
   3. “Back” is disabled.
   4. Pressing “ESC” does nothing.
   5. To continue using my laptop, I must click “Continue”.
   6. I clicked “Continue” and the dialog disappeared and my laptop finished starting.
3. Apple Intelligence was secretly turned on!
   1. I opened Settings and clicked on “Apple Intelligence & Siri” and saw that the Apple Intelligence toggle is enabled:
   2. Turning off the toggle shows a confirmation screen:

Analysis

1. Poor button label
   1. Using a “Continue” button to enable a system feature is misleading. This breaks with Apple's own published guidelines:

      Ensure that each button clearly communicates its purpose.

      A button always includes a text label or a symbol (or interface icon) — and sometimes a combination of both — to help people predict what it does.

      — Apple Human Interface Guidelines - Buttons - Best Practices (Retrieved 2025-03-19)

   2. To clearly communicate its purpose, the button can be labeled “Enable”.
   3. Many users would not realize that clicking “Continue” enabled the feature.
   4. Some users do not want the feature enabled. To align their computer with their preferences, they must disable the Apple Intelligence feature after clicking “Continue”.
   5. In UX design, an error is when a user operates the machine in a way that contradicts their desires. Much of the work of UX design is helping users avoid making errors.
   6. The macOS users in both categories (not realizing and not wanting), will fail to disable Apple Intelligence, an error.
   7. The poor button label leads Apple customers to make errors.
2. Missing “Skip” button
   1. The system requires users to enable Apple Intelligence to continue using their computer.
   2. Industry best-practice is to give users control over their software.

      1. User Control and Freedom

         Users often perform actions by mistake. They need a clearly marked “emergency exit” to leave the unwanted action without having to go through an extended process.

         When it's easy for people to back out of a process or undo an action, it fosters a sense of freedom and confidence. Exits allow users to remain in control of the system and avoid getting stuck and feeling frustrated.

         — 10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design - Jakob Nielsen

      2. User control is a vital part of user experience (UX) design—something that’s primarily due to its potential to enhance user autonomy in good designs.

         — User Control - Interaction Design Foundation

   3. By omitting the “Skip” option, Apple took control away from their users over the feature. They designed the software to force users to enable Apple Intelligence.

Conclusion

1. The design of the Apple Intelligence setup dialog indicates that Apple is deprioritizing user-centered design. This is troubling to me as a long-term Apple customer.
2. I urge Apple's board to demand that CEO Tim Cook and SVP Machine Learning and AI Strategy John Giannandrea return to the user-centered design that made Apple great.
3. Spicy version: Apple execs Tim Cook and John Giannandrea used a dirty trick to drive adoption of “AI” feature, burning long-term user trust for a short-term stock bump.
4. UPDATE 2025-03-21: Tim Cook made Mike Rockwell head of Siri and Apple Intelligence, replacing John Giannandrea. Great move! Source: Apple Shuffles AI Executive Ranks in Bid to Turn Around Siri - yahoo!finance.