San Francisco Frontiers - AI pendants back in vogue at tech show after early setback

The return of the wearable tech comes about a year after the discontinuation of a Humane AI Pin panned by reviewers after it was launched amid high expectations in early 2024.

It also comes as OpenAI chief Sam Altman and renowned industrial designer Jony Ive collaborate on a device for interacting with AI, expected to be ready by next year.

Not everyone is a fan of always-watching neckwear as a fashion accessory.

"Go make some real friends" became common graffiti on New York City subway ads for Friend brand AI pendants late last year to protest "surveillance capitalism."

Nonetheless, at the CES show in Las Vegas, gadget makers have pitched AI pendants as note-takers or ways to remember beautiful or important moments of each day.

Technical advances including improved chips have helped overcome early problems with poor battery life, buggy software, and stumbling conversations that tainted early pendant models.

China-based laptop titan Lenovo unveiled a prototype pendant from its Motorola subsidiary that allows voice control of its AI assistant Qira.

The device worn around the neck will capture sound and images hands-free.

Amazon made a deal to buy wearable AI startup Bee last year, and Meta acquired AI device company Limitless.

Bee devices are worn on the wrist, belt or lapel, and primarily function as an assistant by taking notes, offering reminders and keeping calendars.

Meanwhile, Meta has made a priority of developing AI "superintelligence" and is successfully packing AI into Ray-Ban glasses.

- Style choices -

Companies are taking an array of approaches to wearable AI.

Startup Vocci, which focuses on AI-assisted notetaking, has opted for a ring, while Plaud has a pin as well as a rectangular device barely thicker than a credit card for keeping track of what is being said.

Chinese startup iBuddi came to Las Vegas to present a prototype of a companion medallion aimed at combating screen fatigue.

"Our core philosophy is to build a body-worn AI companion that replaces some phone interactions, rather than adding another screen that absorbs attention," iBuddi founder Yin Haitian told AFP.

The entrepreneur, who aims for a commercial launch in July, was adamant that iBuddi "is not driven by surveillance" but instead "reacts to the moments that matter instead of continuously recording everything."

A Looki L1 AI wearable, on the other hand, continuously captures a wearer's point of view, promising to advise when to avoid another cup of coffee, to comment on places or objects around you, and to summarize each day in a comic strip.

"Consumer expectations regarding privacy haven't gone away entirely, but they are shifting," said Avi Greengart, an analyst at tech research and advisory group, Techsponential.

"We're already being surveilled by billions of smartphones, city camera networks and smart devices that we willingly placed in our homes."

The analyst does not expect wearable AI to replace smartphones any time soon but sees them becoming common additions to personal tech ensembles along with smart watches, rings and glasses.

For those uncomfortable with idea of omnipresent surveillance, a startup at CES offered "Wearphone" -- a mask with built-in earbuds and microphones designed to help keep conversations private.

A.Evans--SFF