I Said No and Apple Said Yes - CourtneyR.dev's 2nd Brain

I Said No and Apple Said Yes ![rw-book-cover](https://dbushell.com/images/articles/2026-09-22-apple-intelligence.png) 🔗 **Source:** [I Said No and Apple Said Yes](https://dbushell.com/2026/09/22/apple-intelligence/) > [!note]+ Document Notes > tags: [ai-consent, apple-intelligence, macos, privacy, opt-out-design] > author: David Bushell > source: dbushell.com > reference: https://dbushell.com/2026/09/22/apple-intelligence/ > date created: 2026-09-22 > > > [!info] Generated analysis — not the author's words. Sections below are machine-written > > from the captured source. Only text inside `> [!quote]` blocks is verbatim from the author. > > Do not quote or attribute any other line to the named author. > > # 🏷️ Title: I said no and Apple said yes >  ## 🧭 Table of Contents - [📝 Summary](#-summary) - [📖 Main Content](#-main-content) - [🗒️ Notes](#️-notes) - [📚 References](#-references) - [🗣️ Paraphrase](#️-paraphrase) - [📰 Newsletter](#-newsletter) - [✅ Action Items](#-action-items) - [🧪 Hypotheses](#-hypotheses) - [📊 Methodology](#-methodology) - [❓ Questions](#-questions) - [🔮 Future Research](#-future-research) - [💡 Implications](#-implications) - [🧠 Learning Styles Assessment](#-learning-styles-assessment) - [📊 Accessibility Assessment](#-accessibility-assessment) - [🌍 DEIB Assessment](#-deib-assessment) - [✅ Logical Validity](#-logical-validity) - [🛡️ DARVO Analysis](#-darvo-analysis) - [🎯 Conclusion](#-conclusion) ### 🔗 References - [Author's 2025-02-05 note: turning off the macOS 15.3 feature](https://dbushell.com/notes/2025-02-05T09:51Z/) - [Author's 2026-09-16 note: upgrading to macOS 27](https://dbushell.com/notes/2026-09-16T05:01Z/) - [Apple Support: Screen Time content restrictions on Mac](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/mac-help/mchlb2e44f94/mac) - [Author's AI policy](https://dbushell.com/ai/) ## 📝 Summary - **What happened:** David Bushell, a UK web developer, upgraded a Mac from macOS 15 to macOS 27 and found that the Apple Intelligence off switch he'd used in February 2025 no longer exists. Features he'd turned off came back on, Siri processes kept running after he disabled Siri, and Apple Intelligence took 22.28 GB of disk. - **Why it matters:** it's a first-hand, dated account of an opt-out that didn't survive an OS upgrade. The post argues the AI industry treats "no" as temporary. - **Key stakeholders:** Mac users who opted out of Apple Intelligence; Apple; developers and admins who manage Macs; people who rely on settings persisting across upgrades. - **Risks and tradeoffs:** the evidence is one user on one machine. Screenshots carry the proof, and Reader captured only their captions. The second half moves from Apple to the whole AI industry in heated, hyperbolic language. - **Bottom line:** if an upgrade can remove an opt-out, the opt-out wasn't consent. Screen Time restrictions hide the menus but don't turn the feature off. ## 📖 Main Content - **The prior "no."** Bushell's February 5, 2025 note records turning off a macOS 15.3 feature that sent data home every 15 minutes. macOS 15 offered a top-level Apple Intelligence setting plus a second privacy setting further down. - **The upgrade.** He moved from macOS 15 to 27. His aside, "I only skipped one major version, Apple skipped 10!", refers to Apple jumping its version numbers from 15 to 26 to match release years. - **What changed.** The Apple Intelligence off switch is gone. Turning off Siri in macOS 27 no longer covers Apple Intelligence, and he reports Siri processes still running and writing data afterward. - **Workaround.** Screen Time content restrictions (meant for parental controls, per Apple's support page) hide Apple Intelligence tools from menus. They don't disable the feature. - **Disk cost.** Storage settings list Apple Intelligence at 22.28 GB. At his figure of £500/TB for extra MacBook storage, that's about £11 (22.28 GB × £0.50/GB = £11.14). - **Wider argument.** He calls the storage cost trivial next to the consent problem, then argues the AI industry doesn't accept "no." He cites three September 2026 headlines (below) and ends on the post's thesis: people say "just turn it off," and then the option disappears. - **Uncertain or unverified:** no Apple documentation is cited for removing the switch; that rests on his own settings screens. The "phoning home with personal data" description comes from his 2025 note and wasn't rechecked here. The £500/TB price is his figure. ### 🗒️ Notes - ¶1–4: Timestamped prior opt-out; macOS 15 had two settings to turn it off, one buried in privacy. - ¶5–6: Upgrade to 27; the "no" switch is gone. - ¶7: The consent argument begins; he links his June 2026 post about an Apple "deepfake feature." - ¶8–9: Siri turned off again; Apple Intelligence no longer part of that control. - ¶10: Screen Time restrictions as a partial workaround. - ¶11: Everything was re-enabled despite "Apple Intelligence & Siri" being off before the upgrade. - ¶12–14: 22.28 GB on disk; ~£11 at £500/TB. - ¶15–18: Industry-wide critique, three linked headlines, closing line about billionaires and an "Epstein list." - ¶19: The line the title comes from. - **Capture gap:** Reader dropped the post's `<ul>` of three headlines. From the live page: NYT on CSAM persisting on X despite Musk's pledges; Futurism on 50+ consumer-harm and wrongful-death suits against OpenAI; 404 Media on OpenAI and Microsoft conceding LLMs harm the web. Screenshots are also absent; only their captions came through. ## 📚 References - [Apple Support: Use Screen Time content & privacy restrictions on Mac](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/mac-help/mchlb2e44f94/mac) — primary source for the workaround - [dbushell.com note, 2025-02-05](https://dbushell.com/notes/2025-02-05T09:51Z/) — the original opt-out - [dbushell.com, "Apple deepfakes" (2026-06-12)](https://dbushell.com/2026/06/12/apple-deepfakes/) - [NYT, 2026-09-11: CSAM persists on X](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/11/technology/x-grok-child-images.html) - [Futurism: OpenAI faces 50+ consumer-harm and wrongful-death lawsuits](https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/openai-consumer-harm-wrongful-death-lawsuits) - [404 Media: OpenAI and Microsoft admit LLMs are destroying the web](https://www.404media.co/doom-loop-openai-and-microsoft-admits-llms-are-destroying-the-web-and-built-on-theft/) - [David Bushell's AI policy](https://dbushell.com/ai/) ## 🗣️ Paraphrase - Because he blogs, he can pinpoint the minute in February 2025 when he found macOS 15.3 sending personal data every 15 minutes and switched it off. - Apple offered that switch then, with a second one buried deeper. - He finally upgraded to macOS 27 last week and today found the switch removed. - He says the AI industry ignores consent, and Apple's June deepfake feature showed it's no different. - Turning Siri off again didn't stop Siri processes, and Apple Intelligence is no longer part of that control. - Screen Time restrictions hide the AI tools in menus without disabling them. - All of it came back on even though he'd turned "Apple Intelligence & Siri" off before upgrading. - Apple Intelligence now takes 22.28 GB, roughly £11 of storage at Apple's upgrade prices. - The money doesn't matter next to the consent problem: the industry won't take no for an answer. - His AI policy can't keep up; he lists three recent headlines about AI harms. - He refuses to back billionaires funding non-consensual, privacy-invading products. - People tell him to just turn it off, and then the off switch disappears. ## 📰 Newsletter - **The opt-out that didn't survive the upgrade.** David Bushell [documented](https://dbushell.com/notes/2025-02-05T09:51Z/) turning off Apple Intelligence in February 2025. After [upgrading to macOS 27](https://dbushell.com/2026/09/22/apple-intelligence/), the switch was gone, the features were back on, and 22.28 GB of disk belonged to a feature he'd declined. Apple's own [Screen Time restrictions](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/mac-help/mchlb2e44f94/mac) hide the menus but don't disable it. - For WordPress folks, this is the same lesson in plugin form: if a plugin update turns a setting back on that an admin switched off, the admin never really had a choice. Preserving settings across upgrades is a trust feature, not a detail. Worth keeping in mind as AI features show up in core and plugin roadmaps. ## ✅ Action Items #### DevRel - Developer advocacy: use this post as a case study for "settings must survive upgrades" in talks on AI feature rollouts. - Education: a short module on consent-respecting defaults for AI features. - Developer experience: document how to persist opt-outs in plugin upgrade routines. - Developer marketing: not applicable to this source. - Community management: not applicable to this source. - Internal/external/cross-project: not applicable to this source. #### OSPO - Policy & Governance: a policy that an upgrade never re-enables a user-disabled AI or telemetry feature. - License Compliance: not applicable to this source. - Security Management: treat silent re-enablement of data-sending features as a privacy incident class. - Software Inventory: track which dependencies ship AI or telemetry features and their opt-out state. - Developer Support: not applicable to this source. - Community Engagement: not applicable to this source. - Strategic Alignment: not applicable to this source. #### Community - Maintainers: add "opt-out persists after upgrade" to release test plans. - Contributors: not applicable to this source. - Sponsors: not applicable to this source. - Ecosystem: not applicable to this source. #### WordPress - Core: any AI feature in core needs an opt-out that `upgrade.php` routines preserve. - Core Performance: note disk and memory cost of bundled AI models; the post's 22.28 GB figure shows users notice. - Core AI: make "off stays off across updates" an explicit guardrail and test case. - **Core Program Team:** not applicable to this source. - Mobile: same persistence test for app updates. - Playground: a blueprint that toggles an AI setting off, upgrades, and asserts it stays off. - Community: not applicable to this source. - Training: lesson on consent-respecting settings design. - Marketing: not applicable to this source. - Support: document where AI settings live and how to confirm they're off after an update. - Design: make AI opt-outs visible at the top level, not buried two screens deep. - Documentation: not applicable to this source. - Photos: not applicable to this source. - TV: not applicable to this source. - Polyglots: not applicable to this source. - Accessibility: not applicable to this source. - Meta: not applicable to this source. - CLI: a WP-CLI command to report AI feature state site-wide. - Hosting: not applicable to this source. - Tide: not applicable to this source. - Openverse: not applicable to this source. - Themes: not applicable to this source. - Plugins: review guideline — updates must not re-enable disabled data-sending features. #### The WPOCC - Programs: not applicable to this source. - Projects: not applicable to this source. - Funding experiments: not applicable to this source. ### FAIR - Technical independence: not applicable to this source. - Policies and covenants: a covenant that updates don't override user privacy choices. - Productized governance artifacts: not applicable to this source. ## 🧪 Hypotheses - H1: Upgrading from macOS 15 to 27 re-enables Apple Intelligence features on machines where they were turned off, across more than one machine. - H2: macOS 27 offers no top-level switch that fully disables Apple Intelligence. - H3: Screen Time content restrictions hide Apple Intelligence menu items without stopping its background processes. - H4: Apple Intelligence's on-disk footprint on macOS 27 is roughly 20+ GB regardless of whether features are used. ## 📊 Methodology - H1/H2: clean-install macOS 15 on test Macs, disable Apple Intelligence and Siri, upgrade to 27, record settings and running processes before and after. - H3: enable Screen Time restrictions, then monitor processes (`ps`, Activity Monitor) and network traffic. - H4: compare Storage settings across several Macs with different usage. - Data sources: Apple release notes and support docs, system logs, network captures. ## ❓ Questions - Does Apple document the removal of the Apple Intelligence off switch in macOS 27 release notes? - Is there a supported way (MDM profile, `defaults` key) to disable it fully? - Does the 22.28 GB figure hold on Macs that never enabled Apple Intelligence? - Which data do the remaining Siri processes send, if any? ## 🔮 Future Research - Cross-vendor study of whether AI opt-outs persist across OS and app upgrades (Apple, Microsoft, Google). - Regulatory framing: does re-enabling a declined feature meet GDPR consent standards in the UK/EU? ## 💡 Implications - **Practice:** vendors should treat opt-out persistence as a requirement and test it on upgrade paths. - **Policy:** re-enabling a declined data-processing feature may conflict with consent rules; this is the kind of case regulators could examine. - **Security:** users can't trust a privacy setting to survive an update, so admins need post-upgrade checks. - **Education:** a clear teaching example of consent erosion through defaults. - **Funding models:** not applicable to this source. ## 🧠 Learning Styles Assessment - Reading level estimate: roughly grade 8–9 (short sentences, conversational; estimated, not computed). #### 👀 Visual learners - Present: four settings screenshots (not captured in Reader; only captions came through). - Improve: before/after comparison of the macOS 15 and 27 settings screens. #### 🔊 Aural learners - Present: none. - Improve: audio version. #### 🗣️ Verbal learners - Present: first-person narrative with dates and figures. - Improve: define "Apple Intelligence" for readers who don't use Macs. #### 🧩 Kinesthetic learners - Present: the Screen Time workaround link. - Improve: step-by-step instructions to check and hide the features. #### 🧠 Logical learners - Present: the storage cost math. - Improve: a table of which settings disable what. #### 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Social learners - Present: none. - Improve: invite readers to report their own upgrade results. #### 🧘‍♀️ Solitary learners - Present: none. - Improve: a checklist to audit your own Mac. #### 🌿 Naturalistic learners - Present: the disk footprint. - Improve: energy and storage cost of on-device models. ## 📊 Accessibility Assessment #### Screen reader semantics - Present: screenshots carry figure captions. - Improve: captions are short labels; alt text should describe what each setting screen shows (WCAG 1.1.1). #### Keyboard navigation - Present: not assessable from captured text. - Improve: not applicable to this source. #### Contrast and readability - Present: short paragraphs. - Improve: not assessable from captured text. #### Text resizing and reflow - Present: not assessable. - Improve: not applicable to this source. #### Media and captions - Present: no audio or video. - Improve: not applicable to this source. #### Forms and interactions - Present: none. - Improve: not applicable to this source. #### Standards reference - Main gap to check: 1.1.1 Non-text Content for the screenshots, since the evidence lives in the images. ## 🌍 DEIB Assessment #### Cultural breadth - Present: UK framing (£ pricing). - Improve: not applicable to this source. #### Inclusive language - Present: plain language. - Improve: "AI bros" and "psychopaths" label groups rather than describing behavior. #### Neurodiversity support - Present: short, chunked paragraphs. - Improve: a one-line summary up top. #### Representation - Present: not applicable to this source. - Improve: not applicable to this source. #### Psychological safety - Present: not applicable to this source. - Improve: the violent metaphor in ¶15 ("cut out your tongue") could use a softer literal statement. ## ✅ Logical Validity #### Strong reasoning - Dated before/after evidence: his February 2025 note and the September 2026 settings screens show a setting that existed and then didn't. - Correct arithmetic: 22.28 GB at £500/TB ≈ £11. - Clear scoping of the workaround: he says Screen Time hides menus but "don't disable Apple 'Intelligence'" rather than overclaiming a fix. #### Fallacies - **Hasty generalization** — one Mac's upgrade becomes "The AI industrial complex does not do consent." Fix: keep the Apple claim separate from the industry claim, or cite more cases. - **Slippery slope** — "this is how you create another Epstein list" (¶18) links opt-out design to child abuse networks with no causal chain. Fix: state the concern about concentrated, unaccountable wealth directly. - **Ad hominem / straw man** — "AI bros keep telling me…" assigns the "just turn it off" argument to a derided group, not to named people. Fix: quote or link someone who made the argument. #### Tone of voice - Sarcastic and angry ("Apple's harassment," "slop tools," "garbage," "vile"). First-person, conversational, with deadpan asides ("Apple skipped 10!"). ## 🛡️ DARVO Analysis - Deny: none identified in the author's text. - Attack: not applicable in the DARVO sense — the post criticizes Apple and the AI industry; it isn't responding to an accusation against the author. - Reverse victim/offender: none identified. - Not applicable to this source — an opinion post, not a response to an accusation. ## 🎯 Conclusion - Bottom line: Bushell's documented Apple Intelligence opt-out didn't survive the macOS 27 upgrade; the switch is gone, and Screen Time hides the menus without disabling the feature. The industry-wide claims go further than his evidence. - Next step: on any upgraded Mac, check Apple Intelligence & Siri settings and Storage, and use Screen Time restrictions if you want the menus hidden. ## 🔄 Refactor Appendix — I said no and Apple said yes ### 📚 Literature Atoms (H3) #### [H1] macOS 27 upgrade re-enabled declined Apple Intelligence features > [!quote] ID:rw_01m34hzmsedfw46ac8bs8mwe2f > All of this garbage was enabled after upgrading to macOS 27 despite me having “Apple Intelligence & Siri” turned off already. **Context & use**: - ¶11 - First-hand evidence that an opt-out didn't persist across a major upgrade. **Tags**: #xref **Highlight**: [view highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01m34hzmsedfw46ac8bs8mwe2f)  #### [H2] Screen Time hides AI menus without disabling them > [!quote] ID:rw_01m34hzp9nmbth05845f0xx12k > These settings don’t disable Apple “Intelligence” but they do clean up various menus by hiding the slop tools. **Context & use**: - ¶10, links Apple Support - The available workaround and its limit. **Tags**: #share **Highlight**: [view highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01m34hzp9nmbth05845f0xx12k)  ### 🧠 Permanent Candidates (H4) #### [P1] An opt-out that doesn't survive an update isn't consent **Claim** (one sentence, Courtney's voice): If an upgrade can quietly undo a user's "no," the setting was a delay, not a choice. **Evidence pointer**: [[#[H1] macOS 27 upgrade re-enabled declined Apple Intelligence features]] > [!quote] ID:rw_01m34hznh8xy9m5njq0mdn24a4 > AI bros keep telling me “just turn it off” and when I do they remove the choice. **Scope & conditions**: holds for data-sending and AI features; security patches that must change behavior are a separate case and should say so. **Links**: - [[Consent-respecting defaults]] — because extends - [[WordPress plugin upgrade routines]] — because applies-in settings migration  ### ✏️ Fleeting Queue - [F1] Does any Outpost/PKIW upgrade routine reset a user-disabled option? — plugin audit idea #fleeting #inbox - [F2] Find whether Apple documents an MDM key to disable Apple Intelligence on macOS 27 #fleeting #inbox ### → Things 3 (max 2 actions) - [ ] Add an "opt-out survives upgrade" test to one plugin's release checklist — plugin QA #things  📄 **Full text:** [[Full Document Contents/Articles/I Said No and Apple Said Yes.md|I Said No and Apple Said Yes by David Bushell]] ## Highlights - Trawling the web I discovered [Apple has hidden settings](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/mac-help/mchlb2e44f94/mac) under “Screen Time” restrictions. This is supposed to be for parental controls. These settings don’t disable Apple “Intelligence” but they do clean up various menus by hiding the slop tools. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01m34hzp9nmbth05845f0xx12k)) - Note: Workaround: Screen Time content restrictions hide Apple Intelligence menu items but don't disable the feature (Apple support doc linked). - Tags: atom/literature/h2, action/h3 - All of this garbage was enabled after upgrading to macOS 27 despite me having “Apple Intelligence & Siri” turned off already. That was a rather explicit “no”, no? ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01m34hzmsedfw46ac8bs8mwe2f)) - Note: Core claim: an OS upgrade re-enabled features the user had explicitly disabled. Single-user report, first-hand, with a dated prior note as evidence. - Tags: atom/literature/h1 - AI bros keep telling me *“just turn it off”* and when I do they remove the choice. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01m34hznh8xy9m5njq0mdn24a4)) - Note: Opt-out only counts as consent if the opt-out survives updates. - Tags: atom/zettel/z1