According to a report by The Information, OpenAI is building a $200 smart speaker and AI glasses with former Apple designer Jony Ive to bring ChatGPT and facial recognition into your home.
Unlike a standard speaker, this device will reportedly feature a camera and sensors that allow it to see and understand its surroundings. It can recognize objects on a table or follow conversations happening in a room. One of the most interesting features being discussed is a facial recognition system similar to Apple’s Face ID. This would allow users to authorize purchases just by looking at the device.
The involvement of Jony Ive is also a major detail. He is working through his design firm called LoveFrom. OpenAI recently spent billions of dollars to acquire a startup called io Products, which Ive co-founded with several other former Apple executives. This means the people who built the original iPhone are now the ones building the future of ChatGPT.
Other products being reportedly developed by the team include high-tech glasses, a camera, and even a smart lamp. The goal of these products is to create tech that blends into the home. Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, has spoken about the need for new types of computers.
He said: “AI is an incredible technology, but great tools require work at the intersection of technology, design, and understanding people and the world. No one can do this like Jony and his team; the amount of care they put into every aspect of the process is extraordinary.”
This strategy is a direct challenge to Apple and Google. While Apple is building AI directly into the iPhone, OpenAI wants to create a whole new category of devices that don’t require a phone screen at all.
OpenAI is hiring dozens of hardware experts to make this happen. By controlling both the AI software and the physical device, they hope to create a more seamless experience than what is currently possible on a smartphone
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