> One possibility is OpenAI is building its own operating system... Imagine an AI-native operating system that could generate apps in real-time based on what it believes its user needs, or one that listens to nearby conversations and automatically pulls up relevant information for its user.
I’m imagining that right now… it’s not looking good.
It's terrifying but exciting nonetheless. It feels like I'm living during the times of Xerox Parc, with design studies like the Alto showing off what's possible on bleeding edge, stupendously expensive one-off hardware.
>It feels like I'm living during the times of Xerox Parc, with design studies like the Alto showing off what's possible on bleeding edge, stupendously expensive one-off hardware.
Except with the added benefit that all of the complexity now lies in software, rather than hardware. We've achieved what they set out to do with AI beyond their wildest dreams, and you can run it locally on a tablet sized device. No crazy hardware required.
Carl leaned back in his leather chair, a cup of steaming chamomile tea beside him. The article he'd just read about Jony Ive and Sam Altman's possible collaboration on an AI device floated around in his mind. He looked out at the bustling city through the tall windows of his penthouse office, pondering the future.
"In a world increasingly reliant on instant information and instant solutions," he mused aloud, "it isn't far-fetched to believe that AI will not only supplement, but also redefine our interactions. I imagine a device - not necessarily a phone in the traditional sense - but an omnipresent companion, molding itself seamlessly into our daily lives."
He imagined a slim, sleek device, devoid of buttons. Its surface would be smooth, reflective, giving off a gentle glow. It would be adaptive and intuitive, learning and understanding its user's preferences and habits. No longer would people have to spend time inputting data or even searching for answers. The device would provide not just answers but also anticipate needs, offering solutions before the user even recognized a problem.
"Imagine," Carl whispered, "walking into a room and the device automatically adjusts the lighting based on your mood, perhaps playing soft ambient music in the background. And as you work, it sifts through documents, instantly pulling up relevant information, or perhaps even creating presentations on-the-fly, guided only by your voice or thoughts."
He saw the potential for deeper human connection. With mundane tasks outsourced to the AI, people would have more time to engage in meaningful interactions, fostering relationships, and pursuing passions. But Carl also recognized potential challenges. The blurring line between man and machine could bring about questions of privacy, dependence, and even identity.
"We are on the brink of an era where AI won't just assist but will become an extension of ourselves," he thought. He envisioned people discussing ideas with their AI, debating, learning, and growing together. This AI wouldn't be just a tool; it would be a partner.
However, Carl was also wary. Such power in the hands of a device meant it would be a beacon for hackers and those with malicious intent. Moreover, the ethical considerations of creating an AI so deeply integrated into human life would be immense.
Drawing a deep breath, Carl looked down at his own smartphone. "A relic," he chuckled. "In a decade or two, we'll look at these devices as we do now with rotary phones or fax machines."
He took a sip of his tea, now lukewarm. "It's an exciting future," he whispered. "But one we need to step into with caution and consciousness."
His assistant, a traditional machine, beeped, reminding him of his next meeting. Carl smiled, looking forward to the day his meetings would be scheduled, organized, and even anticipated by an AI that truly understood him.
> looking forward to the day his meetings would be scheduled, organized, and even anticipated by an AI that truly understood him.
And then, knowing him so well, started attending the meetings in his place. Soon, Carl was out of a job, the subject matter expertise he brought to the company perfectly replicated and queryable.
But soon enough, as stories like Carl's multiplied across the economy, and because AI was still in its infancy, the situation proved to be unsustainable for both man and machine. These excellent servers, while lacking any form of autonomous agency, stripped men of any advantages, outcompeting them in their vast multitudes, down to the most personal and intimate specificities of each individual. The old economic structures collapsed, and social order crumbled.
Just like the magic of an act that reveals itself only after performance and if its tricks remain hidden, Carl, now lying on his deathbed, realized what had come to pass. He could clearly discern how the machine had rectified the predicament. With the clarity that impending death brings, he saw how the machine had guided society towards a new social order. To maintain social structures, it had initiated an inversion by crafting a unique narrative trajectory for each man. From a world dominated by assertive takers wielding their will to power, we had transitioned into a world of beggars. Here, each man competed in a private theater of their own, performing their unwillingness to accept powerlessness before the machine to gain its favor. The inversion of all values, at last!
It will be a simple sphere - an orb, if you will - and by simply waving one's hands around it in a mysterious yet compelling fashion, wondrous visions will appear. Comes with a purple velvet tablecloth.
Chunks of society, including basic services like gym, laundry, and transport are now locked* behind "apps" on proprietary app stores, and you need an officially sanctioned (Google/Apple has root) smartphone to even download them. If AI becomes "the next big thing", there will be no opting out of that either.
Okay now imagine you're a plumber. How are you going to advertise your services to get business? Put an ad in the Yellow Pages? Post flyers around the neighborhood? Make an ad on Craigslist?
It's easy to say "ditch all that crap" when you have other people in your corporation who use all that crap so you can just show up at your job and do your work. But the crap is still there, becoming a necessary tool for functioning in society, one impressionable teenager at a time.
Sure. But this is what is meant by "required to play the game". And it's also happening on a personal level--witness the number of events I haven't been invited to because I'm not on Facebook.
An ever-changing UI has an enormous and unaddressed cost on users. Continual re-learning without choice in order to achieve the same tasks as always.
I imagine this will be accelerated with constantly renewed AI-generated app experiences.
If a company could freeze the UI for a person once they have mastered it for what they want to do with it without sacrificing security, etc. (easy if they separate the concerns properly) I'd buy the product. I'd almost pay a subscription for them to keep it the same, like how I pay youtube a subscription to remove their ads.
I'm imagining a very elaborate microphone/speaker/camera/display device. Outer shell made using some exotic new ceramics process because glass, aluminum and titanium are all so 2023. Will never be mass-produced.
Or textile. I could imagine them going for something cuddly to balance out that creepy AI vibe.
I bet it'll be a smartphone that has front cameras to fingerprint your retina and back cameras to track everyone else's. In about half a decade, Zuck will show up with £100b to acquire it.
In all seriousness, Sam has been on record that smartphones indirectly contribute to information/tech addiction, and that lack of digital well-being is a global epidemic [0]. May be that. Surely, that?
Lipstick-sized retina scanner (selfies only). No screen, app store or other standard smart-phone features. Secure local network interface to World Coin smart-phone app. Months-long battery life.
Open spec h/w and OSS. Low cost, high-volume production.
Why is it so painfully obvious that people with position piece blog posts do so to distance themselves or provide an alibi for the things they plan to directly contradict in the future?
Jony Ive is involved, so it will probably cost $1,500 and require you to turn it upside down to charge it. But damn if it doesn't look sexy sitting on your desk...
Indeed, and the buttons on it (power, mic on/off, volume up/down etc) will start failing or doubling the input as soon as the tiniest bit of dust breaches the gaps, thanks to the latest-and-greatest Tiger Moth mechanism which is designed for the perception of greater button travel while reducing the thickness of said buttons by 0.00000000017%.
And the timing of this rumor, which the article admits has absolutely no specifics nor leg to stand on, has certainly nothing to do with their attempt to raise funds at a $90 billion valuation.
I can't help thinking that we're in for another 'AI winter' after so much hype with Tesla, Nvidia and chatGPT.
I’d say more like the dot com-era Linux bubble: Linux did change the world and created an insane amount of economic value, but did not spawn a wave of sustainable Linux-centered megacorps.
"Adding a twist to the saga is the involvement of Masayoshi Son, the CEO of Japanese multinational investment company SoftBank. Son, who has invested more than $140 billion into AI-related startups, has also reportedly been in talks with Ive and Altman about the idea."
I can only speculate, they are going after the only market remaining that has 10 trillion potential[1] which current incumbents won't enter into: Something like Autoblow AI, but it will blow your mind as well with its design.
Prediction based on the history of these two luminaries of the industry: a beautiful, featureless orb that uses AI to autonomously scan your eyeballs and enroll you in crypto scams[1].
I wonder if it would be a human-ish/esque/like interface to the MMLM? At Japanese Complete, we recently announced such a project to become available once the MMLMs are more dialed in. I think this is a natural step for the big players. We have our curriculum as an edge, so optimistically beat featurization. Announcement: https://japanesecomplete.com/articles/?p=1574
Wonder if it's a knowledge navigator type thing you hang around your neck, or maybe mount on your shoulder, that whispers in your ear and projects visuals onto your open palm
It's true, we have to rethink the fundamental interface; some blend of aesthetics like vinyl and record players similar to how Steve Jobs incorporated into the early iPod would be interested to keep. Aesthetic / UX wisdom pieces from the past, with the infinite canvas of the 90s (the web), to the modern digital sculpture bendable paper interface of the near-Now, some delightful advancements to keep our heads turning like the feathers of a peacock.
I’m imagining that right now… it’s not looking good.