OpenAI Denies Collaboration with Jony Ive on AI Device Development
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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, during an interview at The Wall Street Journal's technology conference, denied rumors of collaborating with former Apple design chief Jony Ive on an artificial intelligence (AI) device. Altman mentioned that while there is a potentially significant project in the works, he remains uncertain about the specifics.
Altman stated at the conference that OpenAI has no interest in competing in the smartphone market, highlighting the exceptional performance of smartphones in their respective domains. He described OpenAI's exploration into consumer hardware as still in a very early or "very fragile" stage, saying, "I believe there are amazing things that can be done, but I don't know what they are yet. I have no interest in competing with smartphones; they excel at what they do."
Image credit: AI-generated image, image licensed by Midjourney
Regarding speculation about collaborating with Jony Ive to develop an "AI iPhone," Altman's remarks seem to reassure Apple. Reports indicate that Jony Ive and Altman have discussed a potential collaboration aimed at creating a secret AI hardware device. The Information highlighted the friendly relationship between Ive and Altman and their discussions about hardware products related to AI.
These rumors gained attention after Thomas Meyerhoffer collaborated with Altman to design the Orb. Before joining OpenAI, Meyerhoffer worked at Apple and collaborated with Ive on several projects, such as the iMac. The Orb is a spherical retinal scanning device created for Altman's cryptocurrency initiative, Worldcoin. The development of the Orb is handled by Tools for Humanity, a company co-founded by Altman where he also serves as president.
So far, OpenAI has not launched any hardware products that leverage its AI expertise. However, Google is developing AI-focused chips and incorporating them into its flagship smartphones. Meanwhile, OpenAI has enhanced ChatGPT's capabilities by enabling the platform to "hear, speak, and see." The application can accept image inputs and analyze them to provide customized responses, and it can also deliver responses via audio to improve accessibility. The company continues to rely on its premium ChatGPT Plus subscription service for revenue.