Wearable tech has stirred some controversy but featured prominently at the Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas (Caroline Brehman) <\/p>\n
Pendants and brooches packed with artificial intelligence abounded at the Consumer Electronics show, using cameras and microphones to watch and listen through the day like a vigilant personal assistant.<\/p>\n
The return of the wearable tech comes about a year after the discontinuation of a Humane AI Pin panned by reviewers after it was launched amid high expectations in early 2024.<\/p>\n
It also comes as OpenAI chief Sam Altman and renowned industrial designer Jony Ive collaborate on a device for interacting with AI, expected to be ready by next year.<\/p>\n
Not everyone is a fan of always-watching neckwear as a fashion accessory.<\/p>\n
“Go make some real friends” became common graffiti on New York City subway ads for Friend brand AI pendants late last year to protest “surveillance capitalism.”<\/p>\n
Nonetheless, at the CES show in Las Vegas, gadget makers have pitched AI pendants as note-takers or ways to remember beautiful or important moments of each day.<\/p>\n
Technical advances including improved chips have helped overcome early problems with poor battery life, buggy software, and stumbling conversations that tainted early pendant models.<\/p>\n
China-based laptop titan Lenovo unveiled a prototype pendant from its Motorola subsidiary that allows voice control of its AI assistant Qira.<\/p>\n
The device worn around the neck will capture sound and images hands-free.<\/p>\n
Amazon made a deal to buy wearable AI startup Bee last year, and Meta acquired AI device company Limitless.<\/p>\n
Bee devices are worn on the wrist, belt or lapel, and primarily function as an assistant by taking notes, offering reminders and keeping calendars.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Meta has made a priority of developing AI “superintelligence” and is successfully packing AI into Ray-Ban glasses.<\/p>\n
– Style choices –<\/p>\n
Companies are taking an array of approaches to wearable AI.<\/p>\n
Startup Vocci, which focuses on AI-assisted notetaking, has opted for a ring, while Plaud has a pin as well as a rectangular device barely thicker than a credit card for keeping track of what is being said.<\/p>\n
Chinese startup iBuddi came to Las Vegas to present a prototype of a companion medallion aimed at combating screen fatigue.<\/p>\n
“Our core philosophy is to build a body-worn AI companion that replaces some phone interactions, rather than adding another screen that absorbs attention,” iBuddi founder Yin Haitian told AFP.<\/p>\n
The entrepreneur, who aims for a commercial launch in July, was adamant that iBuddi “is not driven by surveillance” but instead “reacts to the moments that matter instead of continuously recording everything.”<\/p>\n
A Looki L1 AI wearable, on the other hand, continuously captures a wearer’s point of view, promising to advise when to avoid another cup of coffee, to comment on places or objects around you, and to summarize each day in a comic strip.<\/p>\n
“Consumer expectations regarding privacy haven’t gone away entirely, but they are shifting,” said Avi Greengart, an analyst at tech research and advisory group, Techsponential.<\/p>\n
“We’re already being surveilled by billions of smartphones, city camera networks and smart devices that we willingly placed in our homes.”<\/p>\n
The analyst does not expect wearable AI to replace smartphones any time soon but sees them becoming common additions to personal tech ensembles along with smart watches, rings and glasses.<\/p>\n
For those uncomfortable with idea of omnipresent surveillance, a startup at CES offered “Wearphone” — a mask with built-in earbuds and microphones designed to help keep conversations private.<\/p>\n
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