2023-11-13 19:35:41
They are behind the Humane company and its “AI Pin”, the tech obsession of recent days.
With a rustle, a man dressed all in black unpacks a stack of white boxes in an immaculate office. At his side, a woman, in a black perfecto, smiling slightly, greets us with a simple: “Welcome to Humane”. The man extracts a small square object from the largest of the boxes to present it to the spectators. The video of the AI Pin, this new object supposed to replace (or almost) the smartphone, recalls certain Apple product launches. Like Steve Jobs in his time, the couple obviously wants us to believe that this object is “a revolution”. Like Steve Jobs, they wear black. Like Steve Jobs, they like neat designs and minimalist names. And it’s not entirely a coincidence. Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno both worked at Apple before leaving the company in 2016. They are the two co-founders of Humane, the startup behind this “AI pin”, which has so excited the tech press in recent days.
He is a designer, and speaks with a soft, monotone voice. He is the inventor of various features at Apple where he spent more than 20 years. The best known: the first user interface of the iPhone. She, more dynamic, is an engineer. She led the MacOS software development team.
A questioned launch
The AI Pin, which opens for orders on November 16 in the United States, is worth $699 and a subscription of $24 per month. It serves as a telephone, but also as a personal assistant powered by artificial intelligence. You can ask him to write a message, buy a book, translate a live conversation, find specific information in a long conversation, and even calculate the amount of protein in a handful of almonds… A kind from Alexa, slightly more clever. Or talking ChatGPT. Little more futuristic: a laser allows you to display certain information on the palm of your hand. Your AI Pin can also take photos and videos.
The launch of this pin/phone was widely publicized, but also directly questioned by the specialized press. Sam Altman, CEO of Humane partner and investor Open AI, isn’t sure how successful it will be either. He estimates that like many other pieces of tech equipment, it could find itself in the near future on sale at -90% on Best Buy, reports the New York Times.
A story of a monk and dolphins
In any case, the mythology around this new object is already in place. The ambition is enormous, as always in Silicon Valley. Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno simply want to teach us how to be human again. They are committed to building Humane, not for the world as it exists today, but for the one that could exist tomorrow, we can read on their site. “By rethinking, reconsidering, remembering what human connection is in a technological context, they hope to redefine the role of technology in our lives. »
In the columns of New York Times, we learn that they owe the creation of their business in 2018 to a Buddhist monk called Brother Spirit, whom they met through their acupuncturist. This monk would have encouraged them to present their idea to his friend, Marc Benioff, the founder of Salesforce. The manager (who invested $11 million in their company) then received them at his home in Hawaii. Still according to the New York Timesthey then assured them during a conversation that their product was “huge”, while contemplating the dolphins.
Brother Spirit, monk and musician, also called Phap Linh, is part of a monastery in Bordeaux, reports Business Insider. Its community, Plum Village, has branches all over the world. It does indeed have a connection to Salesforce since Marc Benioff hosted a Plum Village retreat, invited monks to Salesforce’s huge annual event (Dream Force) and then created meditation rooms in his company’s offices on their advice .
“Climate emergency mode as a society” means we will each have to rethink our life goals.
Are you ready for that? https://t.co/TlM0ZodMLs
— Brother Spirit (Phap Linh) (@brspirituality) November 13, 2023
Replace the smartphone? Yes, well not completely
On his Twitter account, Brother Spirit appears to be concerned about climate change. In an interview spotted by Insider, he gives a speech that may seem quite far from the spirit of Silicon Valley. He explains that “our way of understanding the world has given rise to a capitalist, extractive and consumerist society in which we are mired, and which is devouring the planet. » This way of thinking is, according to him, individualism and competition, two notions dear to companies who believe that this is the way to innovate.
Humane, which says from the start of its presentation that it designs a “sustainable” product since it uses repairable materials, does not however seem to renounce capitalism. The company, which has raised more than $230 million, promises to reduce our smartphone consumption. But its response to this problem always remains more technologies, therefore batteries, chargers, cables… Which will be added to what already exists. Because as Imran Chaudhri says au Wall Street Journal, the AI Pin will not really replace the smartphone. It will create new uses, and the smartphone will remain like the PC before it.
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#exApples #teach #human