Imagine two former Apple employees, a company that have always been synonymous with acute design sensibilities and a passion for creating revolutionary products.
Imagine, now, that they want to challenge the legacy of the iPhone, their former firm’s flagship product.
Humane is the start-up behind the AI Pin, available in the US market from today (16/11/23) for $699, presented as the new technological breakthrough (here the presentation video)
It stands out for its minimalist and functional design: a small device with a magnetic clip, easy to attach to clothing, no screen, and controlled mainly by voice commands.
It incorporates a camera, motion sensors and a laser light to provide minimal visual feedback, literally, in the palm of our hand.
The most interesting aspect, as the name suggests, is that its functionalities are based on the integration with generative artificial intelligence, having been realised in collaboration with Microsoft and OpenAI, the 'mother' of ChatGPT.
In this article, I will give you 5 reasons why this product might not make it onto the market and 5 reasons why, on the contrary, it will succeed in replacing smartphones, as is the hope of its creators.
My 5 reasons for NO:
1) Immaturity of the technology:
Although the rapid development of generative AI, we have not yet reached a level where we can perceive the human touch behind it, with answers tending to be too generic or academic.
Furthermore, the holographic representation projected onto one's hand does not seem to have the required resolution to convince users to abandon 4k screens.
2) Poor wearability:
A pin on the shirt is not the ultimate in comfort. It’s also not the ideal position in case one wants to capture photos and videos.
Unlike smartphones, it inevitably lacks in flexibility.
3) Previous experience:
Voice assistants such as Alexa and Google Home are already on the market, but their impact has remained confined to a niche audience.
The AI Pin has certainly far superior capabilities, but it remains uncertain whether consumers really feel the need of a voice assistant or have the familiarity to fully exploit their capabilities.
4) Complexity and trustiness:
It will be possible to customise our experience with the AI Pin via humane.centre, an hub that will be accessible by any browser.
This is an exciting solution for technology enthusiasts, but a challenge for the general public.
In an era where AI is often perceived as a threat to human work, generating trust in this device will be a considerable challenge.
5) Challenge to habits:
Most of the daily activities performed with a smartphone happen quietly and privately.
Down on our screens sending messages, viewing photos and videos or searching online.
The creators of the AI Pin, on the other hand, invite us to “think out loud” our commands, a significant change that could prove to be a difficult barrier to overcome for many users.
A caption from AI Pin's presentation
A product to achieve success must meet 3 criteria:
• Viability (the product must generate profit)
• Feasibility (it must be technically feasible)
• Desirability (someone must want or need the product)
I’m feeling that in this last component I have the biggest doubts. Do we really need the AI Pin?
One of the main causes behind the failure of an idea is the exaggerate focus on what the technology can give (a lot, in this case) and too little energy focused on how integrating it with the users' habits and needs.
It's very easy to be different, very difficult to be better - Jonathan Ive, former CDO of Apple
My 5 reasons for YES:
1) Rapid evolution:
Not much more than year ago, ChatGPT by OpenAI was opened to the public and soon became part of the daily life of many professionals.
Apple has already announced the release of its virtual reality visor, which should radically change the way we understand the space around us.
Any initial technological difficulty of the AI Pin could be quickly overcome as the progress accelerates, bringing this and other tools to the levels expected by users.
2) Privacy-first:
Unlike other technological devices in use in our daily lives that listen to us all the time, the AI Pin adopts a privacy-first approach.
It is activated only by a physical touch and visually signals, to us and those around us, that it is turned on.
This privacy-focused design could become a distinguishing factor in a market that is increasingly aware of this issue.
3) AI Agent instead of App Store:
We've been dancing around this, but it is the real distinguishing feature of this product.
AI Agents (generative artificial intelligence programmes trained to respond to specific tasks) are extremely powerful and will allow us to exponentially increase the capabilities of our phones, responding to our requests 'not in minutes, but in moments'.
Caption from AI Pin's presentation
Not only phone calls and sending messages, but also requesting information about the environments and products around us, translating a conversation into another language in real time, organising our days, creating and playing playlists to accompany them.
What we are used to do with numerous applications, we will activate automatically with our voice.
Developers will no longer make software to be downloaded by users, but to be included in Humane's advanced systems.
4) Innovation as a driver of UX:
Although user experience is crucial in designing a product (and two ex-Apple people know this well), it is often technological innovations that precedes UX practices.
Once a revolutionary technology is on the market, the user experience evolves to adapt to it, rather than the opposite.
5) A new paradigm:
As technology becomes more and more integrated into our daily lives, awareness of the negative effects of current systems is also growing.
Information overload due to powerful social algorithms and “screen fatigue” are consequences of a purely visual interface.
Instead, the AI Pin encourages short vocal prompts, in an attempt to direct us towards a world where interactions are more natural and less hidden behind a screen.
My final 5 cents:
Reasoning on these points, the real challenge for Humane will not be replacing the Iphone and racing against the big players on the market.
They will have to be able to gain the trust of consumers by introducing a radical change in the way we understand not only technology, but also human relationships.
This is something Apple managed to do many years ago, will they be able to replicate it?
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)