Author: Brian X. Chen
Published April11, 2024
“On a recent afternoon, I held a bagel in front of me and said: “Look and tell me if this is healthy.”
A monotone voice responded that the bagel was unhealthy because it was high in carbohydrates, which could contribute to weight gain. I wasn’t talking to a tech bro obsessed with the ketogenic diet. This was the Ai Pin, a $700 tiny computer featuring a virtual assistant pulling data from OpenAI (the research firm behind the ChatGPT chatbot), Google, Microsoft and others to answer questions and perform tasks.
Shaped like a lapel pin that may be a throwback to “Star Trek,” it attaches to your clothing with magnets and is supposed to offload tasks you would normally do with a smartphone, like taking notes, searching the web and shooting photos. Instead of a screen, the pin shines a green laser on your hand to show text. The device includes a camera, speaker and cellular connection.”
“The novel design of the Ai Pin, which was made by the start-up Humane, generated buzz when it was unveiled late last year. Sam Altman, OpenAI’s chief executive, and companies including Microsoft and Salesforce have placed a bold bet — to the tune of $240 million in funding for Humane — that artificially intelligent hardware like the Ai Pin will become the next big thing after the smartphone. (The New York Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft last year for using copyrighted news articles without permission to train chatbots.)
Humane said its goal with the Ai Pin was to offer technology that would help people avoid screens and maintain eye contact” (Chen, 2024).
The Ai Pin is a new technological advancement that does not seem to be steering society in a bad way. One of its main goals is to decrease the amount of time spent on our phones and increase eye contact. This directly relates to my primary research. Many creators on TikTok use eye contact to employ a sense of personal connection and comfort to their viewers. Similarly, the Ai Pin is a an example of a tech device that encourages personal connection. By eliminating the interactive and distracting screen time of our current phones, Ai Pin can indirectly promote stronger relationships and human connection. This product can promote comfort as well. We would be able to communicate more effectively with people and share meaningful connections without the distractions of mobile phones being checked every two minutes.
Technological advances like the Ai Pin are a good starting point to bringing the social back to social interaction. We have lost a part of human connection in the past years and it seems to keep declining. More and more people choose to do things digitally or automated rather than in-person. Social anxiety is on a high and people don’t remember how to interact in public. Ai Pin can provide just enough to function as a useful mobile device but not inhibit people from interacting with one another. The creation of this product and products like these can provide a more human-centered, comfort focused society. If this trend continues, I think we will be better off as a society.
Reference
Chen, B. X., & Tambunan, A. (2024, April 11). This artificially intelligent pin wants to free you from your phone. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/11/technology/personaltech/ai-pin-humane-openai-microsoft.html
