Apple and other device makers should learn a crucial lesson from the failure of the canceled Humane Ai Pin: While voice control can play a role in new devices, it needs to be very limited. It’s simply not practical for people to talk to their computers except in special circumstances.
I hope the developers at Apple working on Siri and future versions of the HomePod took notes while Humane cratered.
Goodbye and good riddance: Humane Ai Pin canceled
It seems like the creators of the Humane Ai Pin — a group of Apple veterans — watched a few too many Star Trek episodes. They looked at the combadge from TNG and set out to recreate it with current technology. They came up with a pin worn on the chest that gave users easy access to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The device used a combination of voice controls and hand gestures, and the gizmo included a laser that could project text onto the user’s palm.
Although reviewers tried very hard to like the Ai Pin, they just couldn’t. Criticism flowed like lava over Pompeii, with disastrous results for the company.
Humane said Tuesday that its servers will shut down at the end of February, turning the $700 Ai Pin into rubbish. HP bought Humane’s CosmOS software.
Touchscreens: So much better than voice control
While the Humane Ai Pin offered more technical problems than features, those could have been overcome. What couldn’t be fixed is the device’s basic design flaw: It tried to replace a touchscreen with voice commands.
I use voice commands many times every day to control the lights, temperature, music, etc., in my smart home. It’s a convenient system … when I’m alone. When I have friends over, it becomes a hassle. I would need to hush people from talking so I could order Siri to turn up the living room lights, for example. Of course, I don’t do this — I pull out my iPhone to make the adjustment. That’s because, when other people are around, touchscreens are better than voice commands.
I recently took a road trip with a couple of friends. One of them sat in the backseat and kept giving her iPhone voice commands, like “Send a text to Mary,” and then dictating the text. It proved kind of irritating for the rest of us in the car. That’s because, when other people are around, touchscreens are better than voice commands.
We don’t want to listen to other people’s conversations. There’s no better proof than the guy in France who got fined 200 euros for making a call on a speakerphone in a train station. And listening to people talk to their computers would be even worse. Imagine the cacophony on a train or coffee shop full of folks all talking to AIs via their smartphones. Instead, everyone quietly scrolls on a touchscreen, not bothering everyone around them. That’s because, when other people are around, touchscreens are better than voice commands.
Learn the right lesson from Humane’s canceled Ai Pin
I joked earlier that the founders of Humane watched too many Star Trek episodes, but maybe they didn’t watch enough. While Kirk and Picard sometimes talk to their ships’ computers, they only do so in special circumstances. The officers on the bridge of the Enterprise use consoles and screens — they don’t all talk to the computer. That’s because, when other people are around, touchscreens are better than voice commands.
Humane didn’t understand this, which is why the Ai Pin failed and was canceled. The whole concept for the device was bad. But I think Apple does understand — that would explain the rumors of a HomePod with a large touchscreen. That would be in addition to support for voice commands, which the current versions of the smart speaker already offer.
However, Humane’s fall is not good news for the AI-enhanced version of Siri expected in the spring. While a smarter Siri is certainly welcome, better ways to interact with our iPhones via voice commands won’t be a game-changer. That’s because, when other people are around, touchscreens are better than voice commands.
I know I used that phrase five times, but repetition plays a key role in learning. And it’s a lesson that Apple and other companies truly need to learn.
