AI Wearables Struggle: Humane AI Pin Faces High Returns and Poor Sales
Since its launch in April, the Humane AI Pin has been facing an uphill battle, characterized more by customer returns than successful sales. The company had ambitious goals to sell 100,000 units; however, it has managed to ship only 10,000. Even more disheartening is the fact that 3,000 units have been returned, resulting in a financial setback of approximately $2.1 million. This leaves only 7,000 Humane AI Pins in the hands of customers, a disappointing 93% below the company’s original target.
The grim results had an air of inevitability. Not long after its debut, a slew of negative reviews began to pour in. Notably, tech reviewer Marques Brownlee labeled it as one of the worst products he’s ever evaluated. This trend sheds light on the broader issues faced by the AI wearables sector. Many companies have been marketing these wearables as replacements for smartphones, but these products often end up complicating workflows instead of simplifying them. Consequently, these unfinished-feeling gadgets pique the curiosity of technologists willing to demo them, but fail to maintain long-term consumer engagement or interest.
Huawei Challenges Nvidia with New AI Chip
Huawei Technologies recently unveiled its latest chip, the Ascend 910C, aiming to rival Nvidia’s H100, one of the top-performing chips in the realm of AI. This strategic move by Huawei is likely a counteraction to U.S. sanctions that limit Nvidia’s ability to sell its most advanced chips in China, citing national security concerns.
The AI race isn’t just about the models being created; the hardware that trains and runs these models can often be even more crucial. While Nvidia dominates this space with an 88% market share, Huawei could emerge as a formidable competitor if its new AI chip lives up to the hype. This ongoing competition highlights how pivotal hardware advancements are in the AI landscape.
Elon Musk’s xAI Launches Grok 2
Elon Musk’s AI venture, xAI, recently launched the Grok 2 beta. Grok, an AI chatbot native to x.com (formerly known as Twitter), now includes an image generator and claims to outperform existing market models like Claude 3.5 Sonnet and GPT-4 Turbo. Available exclusively to X Premium and Premium+ users, Grok 2’s unique selling proposition is its less restricted and less censored outputs, which often result in witty, humorous, or even crass responses.
However, the market is becoming saturated with AI chatbots, prompting the question: how many do we really need? Most existing chatbots offer no substantial improvements or significant differences over each other. Given the high costs of training and maintaining large language models, and with OpenAI yet to turn a profit, the sustainability of proliferating AI chatbots is questionable. It’s likely we might see consolidation in this space as companies struggle to make their ventures profitable.
Google Bets on AI with Pixel 9
At Google’s recent Pixel 9 launch event, the company shifted its focus heavily towards artificial intelligence rather than the smartphone itself. Google’s Senior Vice President of Platforms & Devices, Rick Osterloh, dedicated nearly the first 30 minutes of his presentation to discussing AI—specifically Google’s Gemini—and its integration into the Pixel 9’s software and hardware.
Osterloh emphasized that AI has the potential to make life easier, improve creativity, help us learn, and enhance productivity. Features such as Gemini Live for brainstorming or interview practice, along with image editing, text analysis, and computer vision capabilities, were highlighted as key advancements in the Pixel 9.
Google’s pronounced emphasis on AI during this event may stem from recent earnings calls where analysts questioned when the company’s significant investments in AI would start turning a profit. By making AI the focal point of the Pixel 9, Google is likely attempting to justify its massive expenditure on artificial intelligence.
The big question remains: will this “AI marketing” strategy successfully drive sales and excite users about regularly utilizing AI features? So far, there’s limited evidence suggesting a consumer demand for AI products outside of chatbots. Even long-standing AI solutions like Apple’s Siri have struggled with widespread adoption, which doesn’t bode well for new AI features like Gemini Live.
To ensure AI operates within legal frameworks and overcomes emerging challenges, integrating an enterprise blockchain system that guarantees data quality and ownership could be crucial. Enterprise blockchain may very well become the backbone for AI, safeguarding data and ensuring its immutability.
For those interested in the intersection of AI and blockchain tech, CoinGeek’s coverage provides a comprehensive look into why this synergy could be revolutionary. Check out their “Blockchain for Beginners” section for a deep dive into the fundamentals of blockchain technology.