Humane's Wearable AI Pin

While smartphones remain significant in our lives, there seems to always be room for more revolutionary products created to simplify our lives, equipped with features that once upon a time warranted bucketloads of different hardware.

Humane, an AI-focused Silicon Valley startup founded by former Apple designers Bethany Bongiorno and Imran Chaudhri, barges into that room with its smartphone alternative, the wearable AI Pin.

Anti-Smartphone Presence

It’s not old news that our smartphones often distract us from the real world. Smartphone dependency has made the phrase cell phones connect us to people far away but make the closest people to us become far fly about, and this is what Humane strives to change with its AI Pin.

Humane wants to take the lack of human presence that comes with smartphone usage out of the equation while still providing its users access to as much knowledge and information as possible, perhaps even more compared to what our smartphones can give us.

Humane’s anti-smartphone, which Bongiorno refers to as “the world’s first contextual computer,” is essentially a smartphone without a screen, providing its users with the features they have grown familiar with thanks to their smartphones without the distracting interface, allowing them to still interact with and focus on the world around them.

The AI Pin has a built-in camera for pictures and videos as well as a projector for the device to perform its core feature, the “Laser Ink Display.” The display allows users to project whatever it is they need, whether it be a text message, an incoming call, a music track currently playing on Tidal, or the nutritional value of a dragonfruit onto their palm. The device can also interpret any language, making communicating with others simpler.

The device can be controlled by taps, hand gestures, and voice commands. Movements such as tapping your index finger and thumb together and tilting your hand backward or downward all have specific actions assigned to them.

Transparent and Secure

Most, if not all, smartphone users have grown familiar with virtual assistants like Siri and Google Assistant. The AI Pin, equipped with a GPT-4 powered virtual assistant named AI Mic, does things a little differently.

While other voice/virtual assistants require their users to say wake words, showing that they are always passively listening, Humane takes being transparent about when its device is listening to and recording its users’ data far more seriously.

The AI Pin has what is called a “Trust Light,” which indicates whether a photo, video, or audio is being captured or recorded. The light has five different colors, each transparently indicating different activities, and is visible not only to its users but to everyone around it. To ensure complete discretion, users have access to the “Trust Lock,” which allows them to control when the Pin’s cameras and mics are activated. This way, no images or audio will ever be captured without a user’s say so.

For extra security, the device has built-in hardware that stores on-device encryption keys for users. With this feature, all of a user’s information will be protected even if their device becomes compromised.

Voice-Driven with Variety

Unlike smartphones filled with a collection of apps users have to navigate through, the AI Pin, powered by its AI-powered operating system called Cosmos, lets users simply say what they want to do or know or touch the Pin with the designated gestures.

The intuitive device will then do most of the work for its user, responding to their query using the correct tools. Users can even utilize the Pin’s “Catch Me Up” feature, which lets the device sift through all important texts and calls users have missed.

The AI Pin starts at $699 with a $24 Humane monthly subscription for a phone number and T-Mobile data coverage. The device comes in three different colors, which are the all-black Eclipse, the black with silver edges Equinox, and the white with silver edges Lunar. The wearable Pin comes with a magnetic battery pack for it to attach and hold itself on a piece of clothing, along with two battery boosters that users can switch between portably, allowing all-day usage.

After ordering a pin, users can log into Humane.center to sync contacts, sign up for extra services, and essentially customize their device before wearing it. Upon receiving the Pin, its camera can be used to scan a code shipped with the device to associate it to a user’s online account, allowing them to access recordings, photos, and call or message histories.

For those interested in trying out this anti-smartphone wearable, preorders start on November 16th and shipment will begin in early 2024.

Meme & AI-Generated Picture

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