Baking AI into some random product is a half-baked idea
Slapping ChatGPT integration onto an existing product is not a recipe for market success.
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is happening right now in Las Vegas. And the clear theme is: Put AI in everything whether it makes sense or not.
CES is a predictable event. Most huge tech companies, but not Apple, attend to wave the flag. And a huge number of smaller companies show up to run their unlikely ideas up the flag poll.
The vast majority of new product ideas displayed at CES will never succeed — and, in fact, many will never even ship.
In addition to specific products that lack vision, entire categories do the same. Remember when all the TVs were showcasing 3D? (Just because you can add new technology to a product doesn’t mean you should.)
This year, CES is overwhelmed with products touting AI integration. And they fall into two categories. The first is to use AI behind the scenes to improve the quality of something — for example, picture quality in a TV or skin analysis for beauty consumers. This is both welcome integration and is also nothing new. Companies have been building some kind of AI into their products behind the scenes for many years. If you’re an Apple user, even your AirPods use AI.
But the second category is classic CES — slap a superficial integration onto a product so you can tout AI as a supposed benefit. This amounts to providing a speaker and microphone, plus an internet connection. Not exactly compelling.
For example, Volkswagen is adding a ChatGPT feature into cars. So is Mercedes. Now, instead of talking to ChatGPT on your phone, you can do it through your dashboard and pretend you’re David Hasselhoff. They want consumers to believe that the same functionality available to all smartphone users as a free app somehow makes their cars more advanced.
Urtopia announced ChatGPT integration in its Fusion e-bike.
Telly added an interactive voice assistant powered by ChatGPT.
The Rabbit R1 product from Teenage Engineering looks interesting. But like so many such things, the general public will be able to get similar functionality from smartphones.
One company is even selling a ChatGPT face.
But here’s the one platform that will erase the need for AI chatbots in all our vehicles and appliances.
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