Artificial Intelligence is taking the tech world by storm with the Meta Platform’s Connect Conference today (September 27) expected to announce its personality-based AI-powered chatbots.
Now, Jony Ive, Apple's former chief design officer, and Sam Altman–OpenAI CEO are allegedly in discussion regarding potential collaboration on building an unspecified artificial intelligence hardware device.
Nonetheless, the details of the project remain undisclosed, and there is uncertainty about whether the partnership will materialize. The Information reported on Tuesday (September 26) that Masayoshi Son, SoftBank CEO was also a part of the discussion.
'Innovative hardware suitable for the era of AI'
According to The Verge, Son has invested over $140 billion into AI-related projects in the last few years. In the past, he talked about making SoftBank “the investment company for the AI revolution.”
Furthermore, the specifics of the device remain undisclosed as well including its purpose. According to The Information, Ive and Altman, who share a friendship, have been engaged in conversations about envisioning "innovative hardware suitable for the era of AI."
Presently, it is speculative whether the device will be produced by OpenAI, entrusted to a third-party manufacturer, or if the two will ultimately opt to pursue its development.
What can be confirmed is that the duo is actively exploring the possibilities of designing a "new hardware for the AI age could look like."
Possibly Apple's competitor
Additionally, Apple Insider reported that if the partnership comes to pass, it will most likely be to devise a piece of hardware that will compete with Apple’s iPhone.
“Apple hasn't been sitting out an era of increased use of artificial intelligence and machine learning in hardware and software, as the technology continues to span its entire portfolio of devices,” stated Apple Insider.
The former Apple designer left the company in 2019 after three decades of service in hopes of upstarting an independent design consultancy–LoveFrom. Becoming independent opened a plethora of opportunities to work with other firms including conducting some work with Apple.
Previously, Altman has also partnered with Thomas Meyerhoffer, a former Apple designer to manufacture a hardware product. He designed the spherical retina-scanning Orb for Altman’s Worldcoin crypto project according to The Verge.
Orb was developed by Tools for Humanity, a firm co-founded by Altman in 2019, where he currently holds the position of chairman.
Altman is known to be a prominent investor in Humane–a startup enterprise focused on developing hardware and software technologies, also co-founded by former Apple employees.
The venture is in the process of concocting a wearable AI device intended to serve as a smartphone replacement. Also, Humane is engaged in a collaborative effort with OpenAI to incorporate the technology of the AI company into this device.
Originally published on Interesting Engineering : Original article