The most passionate and experts in the world of consumer technology are in luck after it was revealed that former Apple design chief Jony Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman could be working together on a new “ device” designed to make the most of artificial intelligence technology.
As reported by The Information and confirmed by the Financial Times, Ive and Altman have met to discuss the possibility of jointly developing “new hardware for the AI ??era.” The project would consist of building a kind of ‘iPhone of artificial intelligence’, a reference device whose main objective would be to create a more natural and intuitive user experience to interact with AI, in the same way as the touch computing that came from the The hand of the iPhone in 2007 began a new era in the use of mobile phones.
Although the talks are “advanced”, according to the FT, no further details are known about what Ive and Altman are up to. Even so, some analysts are already speculating that a device that could mark the next era could emerge from the collaboration between the new AI guru, responsible for the launch of ChatGPT, and Steve Jobs’ right-hand man for decades. The design identification process for this device is at a very early stage, with everyone involved putting many different ideas on the table.
In fact, there is no certainty as to whether OpenAI will ultimately be in charge of building it, whether it will be an external manufacturer, or whether it will not even become a commercial product. In any case, the hopes of many technophiles have soared in recent hours.
Altman’s involvement with former Apple employees is quite extensive, as he is currently one of the largest investors in Humane, a startup that was co-founded by professionals from the technology giant and that is already working on an AI device intended to replace smart phones.
Part of the capital necessary for this device that Ive and Altman would be devising could come from Masayoshi Son, CEO of SoftBank, who would be participating in the meetings between the two and has already invested more than $140 billion in startups related to AI. Some sources close to both parties speculate that Son would be willing to invest up to $1,000.
Ive was a close creative collaborator of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. He spent more than two decades at the company and is the ideologue of the design of Mac laptops, iPhone smartphones and iPad tablets, among other products.
