OpenAI and Jony Ive: New details on work on the first proprietary AI hardware
Together with Jony Ive, OpenAI is working on AI hardware, but there are still hurdles. A newspaper report now suggests that the targeted market is difficult.
This is how Altman and Ive announced their collaboration
(Image: OpenAI)
Following the billion-euro acquisition of the hardware company io from design legend Jony Ive, OpenAI continues to struggle with technical hurdles and fundamental design decisions to develop its first own hardware. The Financial Times reports on this and provides new details on what the devices should look like. According to the report, the AI device will stand on the table and be activated at all times so that it can collect data throughout the day using the built-in sensors. It should have at least one, but possibly several cameras. It should also be possible to take it with you. In principle, the aim is to improve smart speakers such as Amazon's Echo devices, writes the British newspaper, citing several anonymous sources.
Product for a difficult market
As the Financial Times goes on to explain, the device should be more powerful and more useful than existing technology. However, it is still necessary to ensure that it only reports when it is needed. The aim is to prevent it from talking too much, which is a problem with OpenAI's ChatGPT. According to one source, it is not so easy to build an AI “that is a friend, but not your strange partner.” The device must not be too intrusive and direct, but it must be able to help. The newspaper goes on to say that the team is also having issues getting the necessary computing power. According to a source, however, the difficulties are normal for this phase of the project and are no cause for concern for OpenAI.
Videos by heise
OpenAI announced the takeover at the end of May with big words; due to a name dispute, the company is now called “io Products.” It was made clear that the aim was to develop AI-controlled hardware, but no further details were given. The report now makes it clearer in which direction the work is heading, and the Financial Times points out that the targeted market is difficult. Criticism of the AI pendant “Friend,” which continuously records its surroundings, was massive a year ago, and Humane's AI Pin quickly fell through. According to the British newspaper, it is also still completely unclear how OpenAI intends to resolve the data protection issues raised by its device.
(mho)
