Jony Ive and OpenAI’s Altman reportedly collaborating on mysterious AI device
arstechnica.com
arstechnica.com
I’m imagining that right now… it’s not looking good.
"In a world increasingly reliant on instant information and instant solutions," he mused aloud, "it isn't far-fetched to believe that AI will not only supplement, but also redefine our interactions. I imagine a device - not necessarily a phone in the traditional sense - but an omnipresent companion, molding itself seamlessly into our daily lives."
He imagined a slim, sleek device, devoid of buttons. Its surface would be smooth, reflective, giving off a gentle glow. It would be adaptive and intuitive, learning and understanding its user's preferences and habits. No longer would people have to spend time inputting data or even searching for answers. The device would provide not just answers but also anticipate needs, offering solutions before the user even recognized a problem.
"Imagine," Carl whispered, "walking into a room and the device automatically adjusts the lighting based on your mood, perhaps playing soft ambient music in the background. And as you work, it sifts through documents, instantly pulling up relevant information, or perhaps even creating presentations on-the-fly, guided only by your voice or thoughts."
He saw the potential for deeper human connection. With mundane tasks outsourced to the AI, people would have more time to engage in meaningful interactions, fostering relationships, and pursuing passions. But Carl also recognized potential challenges. The blurring line between man and machine could bring about questions of privacy, dependence, and even identity.
"We are on the brink of an era where AI won't just assist but will become an extension of ourselves," he thought. He envisioned people discussing ideas with their AI, debating, learning, and growing together. This AI wouldn't be just a tool; it would be a partner.
However, Carl was also wary. Such power in the hands of a device meant it would be a beacon for hackers and those with malicious intent. Moreover, the ethical considerations of creating an AI so deeply integrated into human life would be immense.
Drawing a deep breath, Carl looked down at his own smartphone. "A relic," he chuckled. "In a decade or two, we'll look at these devices as we do now with rotary phones or fax machines."
He took a sip of his tea, now lukewarm. "It's an exciting future," he whispered. "But one we need to step into with caution and consciousness."
His assistant, a traditional machine, beeped, reminding him of his next meeting. Carl smiled, looking forward to the day his meetings would be scheduled, organized, and even anticipated by an AI that truly understood him.
And then, knowing him so well, started attending the meetings in his place. Soon, Carl was out of a job, the subject matter expertise he brought to the company perfectly replicated and queryable.
Just like the magic of an act that reveals itself only after performance and if its tricks remain hidden, Carl, now lying on his deathbed, realized what had come to pass. He could clearly discern how the machine had rectified the predicament. With the clarity that impending death brings, he saw how the machine had guided society towards a new social order. To maintain social structures, it had initiated an inversion by crafting a unique narrative trajectory for each man. From a world dominated by assertive takers wielding their will to power, we had transitioned into a world of beggars. Here, each man competed in a private theater of their own, performing their unwillingness to accept powerlessness before the machine to gain its favor. The inversion of all values, at last!
Carl is an incredibly slow thinker, that tea was steaming like four thoughts ago.
Except with the added benefit that all of the complexity now lies in software, rather than hardware. We've achieved what they set out to do with AI beyond their wildest dreams, and you can run it locally on a tablet sized device. No crazy hardware required.
I feel like society at large is tired.
Everyone buys the thing but basically does it because it's required to continue to play the game - not because it brings them joy.
Pro tip: ditch also Twitter/X, Insta, Facebook, TikTok and all that crap.
It's easy to say "ditch all that crap" when you have other people in your corporation who use all that crap so you can just show up at your job and do your work. But the crap is still there, becoming a necessary tool for functioning in society, one impressionable teenager at a time.
*list will vary depending on location
Great for marketing, but not always so much for creative brilliance.
I imagine this will be accelerated with constantly renewed AI-generated app experiences.
If a company could freeze the UI for a person once they have mastered it for what they want to do with it without sacrificing security, etc. (easy if they separate the concerns properly) I'd buy the product. I'd almost pay a subscription for them to keep it the same, like how I pay youtube a subscription to remove their ads.
Or textile. I could imagine them going for something cuddly to balance out that creepy AI vibe.
I'd call it the OpenAI Genie.
1: https://www.businessinsider.in/tips-for-fixing-an-iphone-or-...
In all seriousness, Sam has been on record that smartphones indirectly contribute to information/tech addiction, and that lack of digital well-being is a global epidemic [0]. May be that. Surely, that?
Lipstick-sized retina scanner (selfies only). No screen, app store or other standard smart-phone features. Secure local network interface to World Coin smart-phone app. Months-long battery life.
Open spec h/w and OSS. Low cost, high-volume production.
I can't help thinking that we're in for another 'AI winter' after so much hype with Tesla, Nvidia and chatGPT.
I can only speculate, they are going after the only market remaining that has 10 trillion potential[1] which current incumbents won't enter into: Something like Autoblow AI, but it will blow your mind as well with its design.
[1]Masayoshi Son is famous for imagining 10T companies, such as wework: https://www.axios.com/2021/08/07/10-trillion-mirage-wework-b...
[1] https://www.reuters.com/technology/scrutiny-iris-scanning-cr...
Could also be another Siri with intent to sell to MAA_G.
Lots of potential personal agent plays possible now on consumer price point AI accelerated hardware.
We call this: Malware, Spyware, Pen Testing, Red-Team…
This is all bad news, not a bright light in the sky, but a nuclear detonation overhead.
I think it just demonstrates that there is a lot of excitement about the possibilities of AI and also of new gadgets.
It's like, imagine the most awesome gadget ever, now multiply times REAL AI. How can that _not_ be amazing? Whatever it is??
Heh.
But it's also such a fun and engaging exercise to think how AI could be embedded in a new device that you use every day.
It might be really good marketing, whether it was intended that way or not. People can just project whatever they are enthusiastic about onto it.
They may be disappointed at the end, but that might come after they have already bought it.