‘iPhone for AI’ Makes No Sense. What Did Jony Ive Really Build?

At this point, phrases like ambient computing, ubiquitous computing, and even (shudder) the Internet of Things might zip around your brain. Are we back here again? If the answer is yes, it may not be a reason to despair. Béhar cites Embodied’s Moxie robot companion, ElliQ eldercare, and the Happiest Baby robotic bassinet as examples of AI-powered devices that actually “solve specific human needs”—but it should be noted that Béhar is involved in all of these products. He says, “We’re designing this experience to be embedded directly into the physical part of these products, instead of your smartphone. This reduces the reliance on doing everything with a personal device, and we find that these solutions are less disruptive to society and are actually more magical in their use. “

Last week, Sir Jonathan Ive was awarding degrees to the Royal College of Art and Imperial College at a ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall in London, as befits his role as a government official for the arts. Stephen Green, head of the joint Innovation Design Engineering program between the two universities, suggests that Ive is an ideal candidate to collect and use all the post-smartphone, behind-the-screen experiments we’ve seen come and go over the past decade, whether those agents of voice—which Green believes need to be used in conjunction with, not standalone, Bluetooth beacons for greater local-level reliability, signal processing, olfactory sensors (OK, maybe we’re not ready for that last one) .

“Historically, that was the beauty of Apple and Steve Jobs,” Green said. “Ultimately a marketing person who has great technical acumen, and who knows how, with what is sometimes called project leadership, brings an amazing team of people and investors around him to make that happen. So, apparently, Jony Ive has a lot of those necessary ingredients, with the support that can gather around him, to achieve an incredible amount of critical mass to do something new. Because many technologies and possibilities exist. “

The iPhone of AI

Early rumors and reports refer, of course, to an “AI iPhone,” in the sense of a highly successful tool that allows everyday people to access advanced technology. Perhaps the best part of any shaping system is that the era cooked up by LoveFrom and OpenAI is self-explanatory. against the iPhone. The mention of social distraction and dependence on screens is consistent with Ive’s unsparing comments over the years on smartphones and social media addiction.

Ive is on record as saying that he limited his children’s screen time. When pressed by Anna Wintour on stage at the WIRED25 Conference in 2018 about how we are now “more connected,” she replied: “The nature of innovation is that you can’t predict every outcome. In my experience, it has had amazing results. Some are very good, and some are very small.”

Another who may have a related spirit, both in terms of breaking away from the smartphone trend and San Francisco culture, is Anjan Katta, founder of Daylight, whose DC-1 tablet goes against the grain with a 60-fps paper display. He says that the harmful components of our current consumer technology, including blue light, flashing lights, and addictive notifications, can make us sicker and more anxious. “As someone who has experienced many of the downsides of modern technology, including eye strain, circadian rhythm disruption, increased ADHD symptoms, and mental health concerns such as anxiety and depression,” he says, “I wholeheartedly embrace the push to create the personal computer.” tools that do not consume such a large part of our time and energy.”