A large part of the population does not know how to live without their mobile phone, but what if it suddenly disappeared or was replaced by another, much more efficient device? The latter is what Humane, a startup created by ex-Apple employees that has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) device to make the iPhone a thing of the past, wants to do.
This electronic device, called the Ai Pin, is a small magnetic locket that should be placed in the lapel of your shirt or jacket. It aims to replace mobile phones. It consists of a laser projector and a 360-degree microphone and incorporates a Qualcomm superchip to connect the AI server to the Internet.
In any case, anyone who thinks that everything has already been invented does not know human nature or can imagine the possibilities of ‘Humane Ai Pin’.
It comes from Humane.inc, probably the most fascinating startup in the world, thanks to the invention of a small device, which is considered by “Time” magazine as the best invention of 2023.
It goes on the market on November 8 with a price close to one thousand dollars (943 euros). The waiting list of interested parties has already hit the company’s website.
The ‘Humane Ai Pin’, remember that name, is a small magnetic locket to be placed on the front of your shirt or jacket lapel, as if it were a football team badge.
It is an artificial intelligence-based post-smart phone device that allows people to have a digital personal assistant everywhere.
At Coperni’s Ready To Wear show at Paris Fashion Week, some models (including Naomi Campbell) sported an unusual accessory on the lapels of blazers and blouses or even the trousers they wore. Shaped like a rounded square, it looked like a small calculator or a large clothes tag.
The never-before-seen device probably left fashionistas unimpressed, but it certainly caught the attention of tech magazines, who were quick to report the first public appearance of Humane’s much-hyped Ai Pin.
It was founded by former Apple employee Imran Chaudhri. Humane is a new startup working on a new “post-smartphone” wearable device, the Ai Pin, that should somehow incorporate artificial intelligence in an easy-to-carry way.
The Ai Pin will be a screenless mobile with a small laser projector that can display information on your hand and will have an array of sensors, microphones and speakers for full interaction with the user and others.
Believing that artificial intelligence is the best weapon to retire cell phones and their illuminated panels, Humane.inc has raised more than $230 million, the last hundred million last spring. Its mission is to “deliver the next era of personal laptops” and with this goal it has won the enthusiastic support of investors such as Sam Altman, founder of Open Ai (company that owns Chat GPT) and Hico Capital (US investment arm of SK Networks).
The former attracted other tech giants to the company such as Qualcomm, Microsoft, Volvo car company, LG Technology and funds Top Tier Capital, Hudson Bay Capital, Socium Ventures, Kindred Ventures Tiger Global, Valia Ventures, Forerunner Ventures and Lachy Groom among others.
Those interested in the topic can consult the TED Talk starring Imran Chaudhri on YouTube where he gives a fascinating demonstration of the device’s capabilities. For example, it translates the voice into any language, with the tone, intonation and intonation of the user’s original speech. It also replicates the tasks that a conventional AI assistant can perform, except for those of connectivity, messaging and email services. But all this without the need for a smartphone and its screen, because this is Humane’s big offer.
The discreet gadget promises to take artificial intelligence everywhere to use it only when it’s really necessary.
This portable device, also known as the “mobile killer” projects calls and notifications directly into the palm, replacing smartphones obsolete.
Chaudhri describes his wearable as “a new type of device, whose platform is built entirely from the ground up for artificial intelligence and completely independent, so it does not need to be connected or paired with a mobile phone, with the advantage that it interacts with world in the same way that the user interacts with the world. Hearing what you hear, seeing what you see, and protecting privacy and security.” For the latter, the ‘Humane Ai Pin’ has a reliable light, which lights up when it records images or sound.”
The discreet gadget promises to take artificial intelligence everywhere to use it only when it’s really necessary.
As Chaudhri explains, “the experience is pervasive and screen-free, allowing you to access computing power without taking your eyes off your surroundings, taking the power of AI with you everywhere.”
The best thing about invention is making technology invisible when it’s not necessary, when it’s convenient to look at people or the landscape instead of looking at the screen. The Humane Ai Pin therefore offers “opportunities to interact with computers in a natural way that we’re not used to, without tapping an app or moving a mouse cursor, so the AI-driven future is much better from now on as it doesn’t need screens.” In his opinion, “invisible devices should be so easy to use that you almost forget they’re there.”
Artificial intelligence and machine learning of the user’s coexistence and environment allow the system to enrich its functions
This so that “the whole world becomes your operating system and when computers are gone, it will allow us to get back to what really matters, real life, like enjoying a concert without having to pick up the phone to record it or live your child’s first experience when they walk for the first time, without a screen coming between you and them.” In this way, “in the future, technology will be both environmental and collaborative. And that means harnessing artificial intelligence to understand you and your environment in order to achieve the best results,” proclaims its proud inventor.
With this “Humane Ai Pin,” as Chaudhri concludes in the same TED talk, “we’re only beginning to scratch the surface of what AI can do, with a device that’s built to disappear and allow experiences to present themselves, so we open new ways of interacting with technology and the world around us.
Ziad Asghar, vice president of product management at Qualcomm Technologies, believes that “Ai Pin will deliver a superior AI experience. With the advent of Generative Artificial Intelligence, Humane Ai Pin and User Experience take great advantage of some of the strengths of AI on devices and use real-time information to deliver personalized and engaging AI use cases to the user. We share Humane’s vision to bring AI everywhere and make it an accessible device for everyone,” according to a Humane statement.
