Cold snap on the telephone. The successive announcements of the Ai Pin from the company Humane and the Rabbit R1, from the start-up Rabbit Inc, two small devices which, thanks to AI, allow us to free ourselves from our smartphones, had the effect of ‘a bolt from the blue in the tech planet. Are our iPhones and other Samsung Galaxy’s about to leave our pockets for good to be replaced by new products whose contours we have already identified? For the knowledge, 20 minutes interviewed Damien Douani, expert in innovations, cultures and uses of digital, and Florent Roulier, innovation manager for the digital transformation consulting company Niji.
Two visions of the future
“A race to reinvent the smartphone is underway, the desire to imagine what comes next is there,” immediately launches Damien Douani, expert in innovations, cultures and uses of digital technology. Production of smartphones down (-19.5% in 2023, according to Trendforce, to 250 million units); technology having reached a certain maturity (even if Samsung’s new Galaxy S24s are innovative); development of the reconditioned market (one in five smartphones sold in France is second hand)… so many indicators to give the green light to succession. Without forgetting AI.
“AI represents a great opportunity for these changes and there are two visions of this future. First, that of bringing screens even closer to our eyes. After the screens of cinemas, televisions and smartphones, it’s time for headsets, like the Apple Vision Pro, or glasses, like Meta’s Ray Ban Stories, which want to bring information closer to our eyes. Second direction: retract the screen or make it disappear. It’s something that fits more into our environment and our context,” according to Damien Douani.
For Florent Roulier of the Niji company, the “Ai Pin and Rabbit R1 really offer an alternative to the smartphone, rather than a complementary device, like a smartwatch “. Above all, according to him, “the advantage of these devices is that, thanks to them, we will recover up to seven hours of life per day! “. That’s the amount of time that some people spend on their screen every day. Thus, by interacting vocally with artificial intelligence, we would be able to reclaim part of our lives…
JARVIS’ Theorem
“These new devices are a bit like what I call the JARVIS Theorem, an artificial intelligence always available at our side and that we call upon whenever necessary, like Tony Stark does in Iron Man,” note for his part Damien Douani. The expert insists on the fact that, undoubtedly within ten years, this notion of pervasive information, constantly with us, but invisible, which we will summon as soon as necessary, will be a reality for most of us .
“In this, the Rabbit R1 constitutes a first step: an intelligent super agent who understands me and who is capable of bringing back the answer to my question in its net,” adds Damien Douani. Who adds: “The Humane AI Pin is more expensive ($699, instead of $199 for the Rabbit R1), more forward-looking, and more Apple style. It is also more disruptive, sexy and exciting with a product in the shape of a pin, which I carry with me, which captures my environment, dialogues with me and projects information into the palm of my hand. Wow effect guaranteed.”
Without a screen, what do we do?
So, OK for continuous access to information, without having to search for it, but only by asking for it by voice. But will we be able to do without pocket screens, even if only to play or watch videos? “The AI Pin and Rabbit R1 are not objects made for entertainment, nor for going on social networks. This is where we see the limits of the two proposals. But the challenge of their designers, Humane and Rabbit Inc., is also to say that people are slaves to their smartphones and that we must return to a certain form of purity,” specifies the expert in innovations, cultures and uses of digital technology, Damien Douani.
Towards virtual digital partners, like in the film Her
“These products of the future are also aimed at people who want to free themselves from the harmful influence of the smartphone,” confirms Florent Roulier, innovation manager at Niji. For him, “they constitute a real alternative, even if they only fulfill some of the uses with AI”.
No doubt our smartphones (which appeared sixteen years ago, remember) still have around ten years of life ahead of them. Still, “the real adoption will be knowing how far we are willing to trust the machine. The switch will be there. Will there come a time when I want to take back control, so that my privacy remains superior to this thing that continuously feeds on my data? », asks Damien Douani.
Unless we get closer and closer to virtual digital partners with whom we will have a humanized relationship. “We are not far from it, probably within two years,” confirms Florent Roulier. For him, “all the techno bricks exist for this and companies are working to assemble them and create human interactions for their equipment, like in the film Her by Spike Jonze. AI Pin, Rabbit R1… or robots, it will then be up to us to know how to take advantage of it. To become their masters, or their slaves.