When people see it, they say, ‘that’s it? It’s so simple.’ That is how OpenAI CEO Sam Altman describes how he thinks people will react to seeing the company’s forthcoming AI hardware device for the first time.
The device is the result of a collaboration between OpenAI and Apple’s former chief designer, Jony Ive. Not much is known about the product yet, except that it is rumored to be screenless and pocket-sized.
Earlier this year, OpenAI acquired Ive’s design startup to bring AI to the masses through a new type of tech gadget. This weekend, Altman and Ive discussed their vision for the AI device in an interview led by Laurene Powell Jobs at Emerson Collective’s ninth annual Demo Day in San Francisco.
Although OpenAI is not sharing specifics about the device, which is currently a prototype, Ive and Altman described the product in terms of its overall vibe. Most notably, Altman compared the device to the iPhone, calling the Apple smartphone the crowning achievement of consumer products so far. He said he could define his life as the time before the iPhone and the time after.
However, Altman complained that modern technologies are filled with distractions. He said that when he uses current devices or most applications, he feels like he is walking through Times Square in New York and constantly dealing with all the little indignities along the way, with flashing lights in his face and people bumping into him. He believes the bright, flashing notifications and dopamine-chasing social apps are where today’s devices go wrong. He stated that this does not make our lives peaceful and calm or let us focus on our own tasks.
In contrast, the vibe of the new AI device would be more like sitting in a beautiful cabin by a lake in the mountains and just enjoying the peace and calm. The device he described should be able to filter things out for the user, who would trust the AI to handle tasks over long periods. It should also be contextually aware of the best time to present information or ask for input. Altman added that you trust it over time, and it has an incredible contextual awareness of your whole life.
Ive confirmed at the event that the device should be available in under two years. He told Powell Jobs that he loves solutions that teeter on appearing almost naive in their simplicity. He also loves incredibly intelligent and sophisticated products that you want to touch, that you feel no intimidation using, and that you want to use almost carelessly, almost without thought, as if they are just simple tools.