David Bridges
Key Insights
- Collaboration: OpenAI’s Sam Altman and designer Jony Ive are developing a groundbreaking device.
- Design Philosophy: The device aims for an aesthetic that encourages users to engage with it physically.
- Simplicity Focus: Altman emphasizes that the device will simplify user interaction with technology.
- Release Timeline: Ive hints at a potential release within the next two years.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and famous former Apple designer Jony Ive are poised to revolutionize the way we interact with technology, in a way that they can’t really describe, at a time they can’t reveal. During a sit-down at the Emerson Collective’s Demo Day event, the two gave us the closest thing we’ve gotten to a taste of what they’re cooking, which is fitting because apparently it’s a device that you’ll want to “lick” and “bite” once you get your hands on it.
Over the course of a half-hour conversation in which little more than some vibes were revealed, the duo praised each other and talked glowingly about what they’ve been making together—which, again, they can’t show us or say a whole lot about. At one point, Altman said it’s a device that “is so simple, but then it just does.” Which is great, who doesn’t love a thing that does?
At one point, Altman, who was more willing to share than the extremely secretive Ive, said the two have a test to tell when the device is ready: “I remember [Ive] said this early on, ‘We’ll know we’ll have the design right when you want to lick it or take a bite out of it.’” So forget the wearable, we’re headed to the realm of the edible, apparently.
Ive maintained his mysterious persona throughout the conversation, but said that he loves solutions that are “Teetering on almost appearing naive in their simplicity,” and that he’s very into “incredibly intelligent, sophisticated products that you want to touch and you feel no intimidation and you want to use almost carelessly and almost without thought.” So it’s going to be extremely simple but also very sophisticated. Basically, it’ll exist somewhere on a spectrum between one extreme and another. Are you starting to picture it?
Altman at one point added, “I hope when people see it, they say, ‘That’s it?’” The two are definitely leaning into the idea of simplicity, suggesting that AI will be able to handle so much for the user that they won’t need nearly the same amount of interface in front of them to interact with it. Altman described current devices like smartphones as walking through Times Square and “dealing with all the little indignities along the way” with flashing lights and people bumping into you. His device, he says, will be “like sitting in the most beautiful cabin by a lake and in the mountains and just enjoying the peace and calm.”
Let’s just say all of that sounds great, even though it kinda sounds like nothing, really. The comments assume that the duo and their teams figure out how this thing is actually going to work, and the early reports haven’t been great. Last month, the Financial Times reported that they hadn’t solved how to actually make the device function as intended with the currently available computing power. So basically, thus far, they’ve built a very fancy paperweight.
Despite the reported struggles, the pair seems sure they’re just about to turn the corner. When Ive was asked if we’ll see the device in the next five years, he said, “Much sooner than that,” and eventually even committed to the possibility that they’ll release something in under two years. So keep your eyes out for a device that may or may not work, but that you’ll want to eat.
