Explore my fascinating but foolish attempt to use old phones I had sitting around to build an AI wearable. There are always five or eight smartphones on my workstation at any given moment. And I refer to each arrangement of tables and counters in my home as “my desk.” So I followed something any rational person would do to act and grabbed the nearest phone to try making my artificial intelligence wearable when I saw the Humane AI Pin comments begin to come in last week.
Humane wants you to think that their AI Pin embodies the most advanced technology for consumers. Reviews and the internal components of the pin indicate the opposite: it appears to run a modified version of Android 12. A Snapdragon chip has powered it for nearly four years.
An average Android phone that seems! I made this declaration at the following team meeting while symbolically holding a mid-range Android phone. Gemini is easily downloaded so that you might attach it to your shirt! Easy. Insignificant. I said, “Give me ten minutes, and I will spin up an even more potent artificial intelligence gadget.”
So, the device is tough.
My ideal device is an external camera and a good hands-free voice assistant. Although it seemed like a good idea, having an iPhone in a top pocket has never worked out since:
1) none of my clothes have pockets, and
2) Siri could be more intelligent.
So, my prototype was just a Motorola Razr Plus around my shirt collar. Of course, this was unsuccessful, but not for the reasons I had thought.
First, a folding phone cannot download Gemini through the Play Store. I was unaware of that. However, I still encountered difficulty using an audio assistant from a flip phone’s cover screen, even after I had sideloaded it and made it my default assistant. While you can do anything other than say “Hey Google” to grab Razr’s attention, the user needs to flip the mobile device up.
I found the information I sought while I ran Gemini in Chrome on the front screen. However, using Google Lens to look from the corner of my eye and attempting to press keys on the display to activate the assistant weren’t working so well. Furthermore, Gemini mistook the word “recycle” on the tube of toothpaste for the word “bicycle,” which it assured me was a past term for spectacles. It isn’t very good!
The second prototype was the same Razr flip phone with the cover screen operating ChatGPT in conversational mode. It indicated that the application could have been more practical because it suggested that it was constantly monitoring and operating. Nevertheless, I decided to try it, and speaking with an invisible artificial intelligence chatbot was an odd sensation.
ChatGPT can hold an appropriate conversation; however, as I lost out on topics to discuss, such as supper ideas and gardening advice, we rapidly lost out on subjects to converse about. I desire an artificial intelligence that can accomplish tasks for me, not simply suggest components for stir-fries.
I decided against the foldable idea and chose a Pixel 8 and a Pixel Watch 2. Having configured Gemini as the phone’s primary assistant, I assumed the watch might benefit from this setting. False. But I still had one card to play: a reliable set of wireless headphones. Living in the modern era of technology, my love.
But guess what? It works. Because Google does not completely support Gemini Assistant on headphones, I had to keep Gemini enabled and running on my mobile device. But I put the device on the table, asked Gemini to keep track of the Blue Apron meal I was preparing for supper, and snapped a picture. I started asking Gemini questions around the kitchen, like how long I should roast the vegetables. Normally, I would have to check the instructions to find the answer and how the fish should be prepared. Every single time, I got the correct answers from it.
The fact that you were able to ask off-topic inquiries was amazing. It assisted me in creating a seasoning blend I needed when using items from my cupboard. When I queried why the recipe may ask me to split the dressing into two parts, it gave me a reasonable explanation. Additionally, it created a timer—something the Humane Pins still cannot achieve.
It could have been more flawless. A Google Home ping that was resting on the counter needed to be unplugged first since it kept attempting to butt in. Additionally, Gemini informed me that it could not play a track on Spotify even though the Google Home speaker could perform so for over ten years. At least that was one used for the watch.
What began as a silly experiment has persuaded me regarding two matters: first, I firmly believe that artificial intelligence (AI) will be used to accomplish more tasks in the future, and second, AI devices will ultimately be limited to smartphones. It’s mobile devices!
Mobile Devices
I’m a gadget lover, but I grew up when camera manufacturers were attempting to convince us to be lugging around a tiny camera and a phone at all times. Smartphones succeeded. Mobile phones have strong processors, good heat dissolution, and advanced wireless networking. It is on an external AI device that runs independently of your mobile device to sort everything out.
Furthermore, what appears far less ridiculous than a laser-marked pin on your chest? Headsets. Right present, people wear them voluntarily throughout the day. And while it gets to wearables, the weird factor matters. I need help understanding how a stand-alone device can replace the basic smartphone, earbuds, or anything similar to the Meta Ray Bans. The gadget junkie in me has everything for specialised AI gear, so perhaps there’s space in our daily routines and wallets for it. However, it’s more reasonable that we now have everything we need to create high-quality AI hardware right ahead of us.
