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Humane, a startup composed of a number of ex-Apple employees, has been working for years on a new type of product. Earlier this month, it revealed this product, called the Ai Pin. It’s designed to let you detach from screens and be more present in your surroundings, and uses artificial intelligence. However, the initial launch didn’t go quite as Humane planned. The Ai Pin’s laser display doesn’t seem too good-looking, and the most recent showcase confirms this. Humane’s CEO Bethany Bongiorno showed off the laser display in a video that was first posted to X (formerly Twitter) by Anders Madsen.
Bongiorno revealed that the video was in response to the question of whether you could send a message with Ai Pin without using voice. It shows Bongiorno navigating the Ai Pin’s user interface through the laser display’s projection on her hand. This laser display is designed to track to the wearer’s palm, and it seems this feature works well. However, the Ai Pin’s laser display lacked clarity and detail. Additionally, it used a smartwatch-like navigation method that reminded me a lot of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6.
Bongiorno responded to critics in the comments, including one who noted that humans prefer regular screens. “Our goal was never to solve smartphone addiction or deter phone usage,” she said in a reply. “It was to build a new contextual compute device and platform to unlock the full capabilities of AI. We are just at the start of what is possible.”
However, Humane’s CEO did not directly address criticisms regarding the Ai Pin’s accuracy. The product made a few factual errors in its initial launch video, which was pre-recorded. Those errors have since been fixed. But it’s a great example of how far AI has to go before it can be trusted as factual.
What is the Humane Ai Pin?
Essentially, the Humane Ai Pin is a voice assistant and projector that you can wear on your clothing. There are a few ways to interact with the Ai Pin, but it seems the best one is with your voice. Otherwise, you can use gestures on the touch surface of the Ai Pin, or interact with the projection of the laser display on your palm.
The problem is that the 720p laser display doesn’t provide much more function than a smartwatch. It actually might be less functional, since you can type custom responses on the best smartwatches. The Ai Pin demo shown on X just saw Bongiorno choose from pre-written responses. While there’s still time for the Ai Pin to get it right, Humane’s first product is shaping up to be underwhelming.