And while many people love Apple Watches, Alexa speakers, or Meta Quest VR headsets, none of them have yet displaced the smartphone as the center of your digital life.
But the dream lives on. The twist of 2024 will be gadgets designed to make the most of artificial intelligence technologies like ChatGPT.
Expect to hear a lot this year about AI computers that clip onto your clothesAI devices you wear as necklace, AI robots, AI laptops with AI Keys, AI smartphones — and more computers for your face, wrist, and living room reimagined as gateways to artificial intelligence.
These AI gadgets may become the most talked about technology of 2024. And AI gadgets may be the most pointless technology of the year. That wouldn’t be the worst.
I’m bad at AI gadgets and the hype around them. But I also want to encourage myself and you to be cautiously curious.
There is much malignancy but also promise in the effort to move beyond the smartphone.
Let’s talk about what can be useful for AI gadgets and what can be hot air.
What are AI gadgets? Do you need them?
The hype you’ll hear about “AI gadgets” are two separate events.
First, there are companies dealing with new forms of computing – such as glasses, jewelry, robots or pagination-like doodads which are supposed to be tailored for artificial intelligence.
They’re also considered less intrusive than your phone to snap photos, text your new crush, and ask a chatbot for shopping advice.
You should expect that most of these AI gadgets will be half-baked, creepy, or terrible ideas — or all of the above.
Get the new one”Hey Pin” — that’s how the company capitalizes it.
This gadget that you clip to your clothes calls a chatbot and can project the weather forecast into your palm with a laser or something. The computer pin from Humane costs at least $699 plus an annual subscription of $288.
I haven’t tried the device, but it looks like a beautifully designed piece of art that no normal person should buy. (Humane says “new technologies deserve new devices.”)
Probably also applies to experimental necklace that records everything you say and hear so an artificial intelligence can play back the good parts.
I’ve also heard excitement in Silicon Valley about its new model Meta’s electronic sunglasses with a chatbot. Former iPhone designer Jony Ive is he’s working on some kind of AI gadget with Sam Altman, the fired and rehired CEO of OpenAI.
Even Altman is wary of AI gadgets. Most of the ideas for AI-adapted computing devices are “pretty bad,” he said he said in an October interview with the Wall Street Journal.
The problem with anything trying to be “better” than your smartphone is that these devices are familiar, useful, ubiquitous, and ingrained in your life.
But it’s also fair to believe that as artificial intelligence and the Internet advance, the devices we use to access them shouldn’t remain frozen in the past.
Evan Spiegel, the co-founder and CEO of Snapchat’s parent company, has been working for nearly a decade on glasses that combine what you see around you with digital images.
He was refreshingly honest about how long it will take to bring you something great beyond the smartphone — and how worthwhile the hunt is.
“Despite smartphones creeping into almost every part of our lives, they still feel like they get in the way of fully experiencing the world,” Spiegel said in an email. “It’s time for something new.”
Spiegel believes the glasses, which his company has been slowly improving for years, “will provide a more immersive computing experience that’s easier to share with friends and based on the real world.”
An “AI smart phone” is actually just a smartphone
The second category of AI gadgets are smartphones, smart speakers, laptops, and other devices whose insides have been redesigned to let you talk to AI chatbots, make your photos look better with AI, or translate a videos from Japanese faster and easier.
Expect Samsung to brag about it Galaxy “AI” phones. is coming this month, though Google’s iPhone and Pixel smartphone have been changing for years to take advantage of what AI can do.
This kind of AI reshaping of your devices is less flashy but potentially more useful than the new AI gizmos.
But, honestly, don’t pay attention to the hype about AI smartphones and laptops.
Just know that when you buy your next phone or computer, it will have more AI capabilities than the last. Everything else is mostly hot air to try to sell you a new phone or computer or make a company look cutting edge.
There will be so much about AI gadgets that it’s not worth buying, but we shouldn’t lose sight of the dream they represent. You deserve fresh ideas for more immersive and less restrictive digital experiences.
The lawyers working for 23andMe did something stupid. According to TechCrunch, lawyers he blamed the people using bad account passwords to let hackers steal millions of people’s genetic and ancestry information.
It is always wrong to blame the victims of rampant cybercrime. Period.
My colleague Tatum Hunter has pointed out that 23andMe rigged its computer systems so that if criminals knew or guessed someone’s password, they could dig into the heritage of other people 23andMe thought were relatives of the customer. Not good.
(The company did not respond to a request for comment.)
Read more from Tatum about what 23andMe users can do about hacking the company’s computer systems.
News organization 404 Media also questioned whether it’s worth giving it Any company your genetic informationwhich can be used or stolen in ways you can’t imagine.
But it’s also true that you’re safer—not safe, but safer—from criminals stealing your information or money online if you use a strong, unique password for each of your digital accounts.
I know, I’d rather visit the dentist than deal with online passwords. We can help. Read these:
- The ultimate guide to setting up and managing strong passwords
- The password system is broken and it’s not your fault