At this point, phrases like ambient computing, ubiquitous computing, and even (shudder) the Internet of Things may be popping into your head. Have we come back here again? If the answer is yes, perhaps there is no reason to despair. Béhar quotes Embodied Moxi companion robot, ElliQ care for the elderly i The happiest child robotic gondolas as examples of AI-powered devices that actually “solve specific human needs” – but it should be noted that Béhar is involved in all of these products. He says: “We are designing these experiences so that they can be directly embedded in the actual physical element of these products, not in the smartphone. This reduces the need to do everything on a personal device and we find that these solutions are less socially disruptive and in fact more magical to use.”
Just last week, Sir Jonathan Ive presented degrees to graduates of the Royal College of Art and Imperial College in a ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall in London, befitting his role as an elder statesman of design. Stephen Green, head of the two universities’ joint Innovation Design Engineering program, suggests Ive is the perfect candidate to capture and metabolize all the post-smartphone and screen experiments we’ve seen over the past decade. whether it’s voice agents – which Green says should be used in combination rather than individually – wearable devices, Bluetooth beacons for greater fidelity at the location level, signal processing, olfactory sensors (OK, maybe we’re not quite ready for that last one) .
“Historically, that’s been the beauty of Apple with Steve Jobs,” Green says. “Ultimately, this is a marketer with great technological foresight who, through what is sometimes called design leadership, is able to assemble an incredible team of people and investors around him to make it happen. So obviously Jony Ive has a lot of the ingredients that are needed and the support that can rally around him to achieve this incredible critical mass to do something innovative. Because there are many technologies and possibilities available.
iPhone AI
The original rumors and reports, of course, referred to the “iPhone AI” in the sense of a hugely successful device that allows ordinary people access to cutting-edge technology. It is likely that the dominant element of any era-shaping system developed by LoveFrom and OpenAI will define itself against iPhone. Mentions of social disruption and reliance on screens align with Ive’s somewhat elusive comments about smartphones and social media addiction.
Ive says he has limited his children’s screen time. Pressed by Anna Wintour on stage at the 2018 WIRED25 Summit on whether we are now “too connected,” he responded: “The nature of innovation is that you can’t predict all the consequences. In my experience, the consequences were surprising. Some great, some less so.”
A possible kindred spirit, both in terms of breaking away from smartphone norms and San Francisco culture, is Anjan Katta, founder of Daylight, whose DC-1 tablet operates despite appearances thanks to a 60 frames per second paper display. He says harmful elements of our current consumer technology, including blue featherlight, flicker and addiction-inducing notifications, can make us sicker and more anxious. “As someone who has first-hand experience of the extreme drawbacks of modern technology, including eye strain, circadian rhythm disruption, exacerbation of ADHD symptoms, and mental health issues such as anxiety and depression,” he says, “I wholeheartedly support the push for personal computing devices that that don’t take up as much of our time and energy.”