GZERO AI

Who needs an AI device?

​The Humane AI Pin, an innovative wearable device that features a camera and a projector and can be worn as a chest pin or an accessory, is being exhibited at the SK Telecom pavilion during the Mobile World Congress 2024 in Barcelona, Spain, on April 2, 2024.
The Humane AI Pin, an innovative wearable device that features a camera and a projector and can be worn as a chest pin or an accessory, is being exhibited at the SK Telecom pavilion during the Mobile World Congress 2024 in Barcelona, Spain, on April 2, 2024.
(Photo by Joan Cros/NurPhoto via Reuters)

Most AI companies are focused on software (such as chatbots and voice-cloning applications), or infrastructure (chips, cloud hosting, and data centers). The ones that have tried to build an iPhone for the AI age have … not delivered.

That makes sense. Smartphones, laptops, and tablets handle most of our digital needs. What else do we want in a platform? Aside from smartwatches and wireless headphones, people aren’t too interested in wearing tech.

The first two big hardware launches of the post-ChatGPT era have been panned. We've already written about the disastrous reviews for the Humane pin, and now, another device, the Rabbit R1, is getting only marginally better reviews.

The Verge called it “unfinished” because it can’t carry out promised simple tasks like creating spreadsheets and sending emails. It said it’s best understood as a companion to a smartphone, but phones don’t need friends. Ars Technica was less generous: “A completely non-viable device that doesn't solve any real problems.”

OpenAI’s Sam Altman recently remarked that we probably don’t need a standalone device for AI, though he has reportedly discussed hardware development with famed former Apple designer Jony Ive. Altman has his own interests here: He wants his ChatGPT and DALL-E programs to live wherever is most accessible to users. But if people do want to integrate generative AI into their daily lives — an open question — they probably want to do it without buying a new device.

More For You

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with journalists to comment on new U.S. sanctions targeting two major Russia's oil producers, as well as other international issues, in Moscow, Russia, October 23, 2025.
Sputnik/Alexander Shcherbak/Pool via REUTERS

The US has paused Russian oil sanctions in a bid to stabilize energy markets rocked by the war with Iran. Administration officials stress that it’s a “tailored” measure, applying only to oil already loaded onto tankers, but it’s still a gift to Russia, which has already been clocking an extra $150 million daily in oil revenues since the war began.

A Boeing C-135 Stratotanker / Stratolifter military aircraft known as KC-135 of the United States Air Force USAF configured as Air Tanker Transport for aerial refueling, powered by 4x CFMI jet engines and tail number 63-8003. The military plane spotted flying over the Netherlands in the blue sky from Mainland USA to Tel Aviv TLV to support the Israel USA - Iran war known as Operation Epic Fury by the US Department of Defense. Venlo, the Netherlands on March 2, 2026
Photo by Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto

4: The number of crew members aboard a US refuelling plane – out of six total – who died after the aircraft crashed in neighboring Iraq on Thursday, US Central Command said this morning.