iPhone conversation-based ads

This UI marks a progression in my work. I finally started using the new glass UI kits in Figma. I hate it, but then again, no one asked me. I'll pipe down about that (for now). This weekend, I was thinking about how everything over the last few years has become a source of data that AI uses in many different ways. For my technically advanced audience, I know the delta between “AI” and “machine learning” and other things is blurry. Don’t get mad at me.

Anyways, this got me thinking about the value of conversation. Companies are racing to build meeting recorders (Fireflies, Granola, Gemini, etc.), and there are massive companies reaping the benefits by powering the software under the hood. What if Apple were able to capture our phone conversations and use them to serve ads?

Even if we put aside the massive privacy and legacy considerations here, I can imagine users would universally detest a feature like this. To monetize every moment of every day seems like an absolute nightmare and an invasion of one of the few deeply human ways of connecting we still have. I don’t think this will get built, but it might give someone an idea…

Have a friend who might actually respond well to these ads? Send them this newsletter. https://sorens.beehiiv.com/