Artificial intelligence (AI) is cropping up in all sorts of devices, from laptops and cars to gaming consoles, smartwatches and even fridges.
Smartphones are ubiquitous and virtual assistants such as Siri and Amazon’s Alexa are becoming increasingly commonplace, but one thing that’s missing is a single iconic device that specialises in AI.
There was plenty of excitement following last month’s announcement that hugely influential British designer Sir Jony Ive was joining OpenAI.
Ive was responsible for the design of many of Apple’s most iconic and transformative products, including the iPod, iPhone, iPad and the user interface of the mobile operating system iOS.
OpenAI brought generative AI to the wider public consciousness with the release of ChatGPT, and the new partnership is looking to produce a new generation of AI devices.
Ive said that the “legacy products” that people are currently using to connect to “unimaginable technology” are now decades old.
He added that OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman described a prototype device as “the coolest piece of technology that the world will have ever seen”.
There has been no description or further official announcement forthcoming, but reports suggest that the new device or device family will be pocket-sized and screenless.
New devices will link with existing platforms but also draw information from around them
In an age of interconnectivity, the device will also pair with existing gadgets such as laptops and smartphones, but it is also expected to be ‘contextually aware’, meaning that it will be able to gather information from its user and environment, most likely through inbuilt cameras and microphones.
OpenAI is not the only big tech company looking to properly integrate AI into its existing products or develop new ones with AI in mind.
CCS Insight analyst Ben Wood said that Meta is also making “big bets” on AI-infused hardware, while Google recently announced that it is working on AI-powered mixed-reality glasses and Amazon has focused on improving Alexa’s capabilities through its Echo speakers – billed as a ‘man-machine interface’.
Futurum research director Olivier Blanchard has said that he expects voice commands to become the most common way of interacting with AI, especially as generative AI becomes “more human” and conversational.
“There’s no longer any reason to type or touch if you can speak instead,” he added.
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