"OpenAI overtook Elon Musk's SpaceX to become the world's most valuable private company this week, after a deal that valued it at $500 billion. One of the ways the ChatGPT maker is seeking to justify the price tag is a push into hardware. The goal is to improve the "smart speakers" of the past decade, such as Amazon's Echo speaker and its Alexa digital assistant, which are generally used for a limited set of functions such as listening to music and setting kitchen timers."
"One issue is ensuring the device only chimes in when useful, preventing it from talking too much or not knowing when to finish the conversation-an ongoing issue with ChatGPT. "The concept is that you should have a friend who's a computer who isn't your weird AI girlfriend... like [Apple's digital voice assistant] Siri but better," said one person who was briefed on the plans. OpenAI was looking for "ways for it to be accessible but not intrusive.""
""Model personality is a hard thing to balance," said another person close to the project. "It can't be too sycophantic, not too direct, helpful, but doesn't keep talking in a feedback loop." OpenAI's device will be entering a difficult market. Friend, an AI companion worn as a pendant around your neck, has been criticized for being "creepy" and having a "snarky" personality. An AI pin made by Humane, a company that Altman personally invested in, has been scrapped."
OpenAI overtook Elon Musk's SpaceX to become the world's most valuable private company after a deal valued it at $500 billion. The company is pursuing hardware to help justify that valuation by building more capable voice-enabled devices. The aim is to improve past smart speakers like Amazon's Echo and Alexa, expanding beyond limited functions such as music playback and timers. Designers are focused on the device's voice and mannerisms, ensuring it only speaks when useful and knows when to finish conversations. Team members emphasized balancing model personality so it is helpful without being sycophantic, intrusive, or verbose. OpenAI has hired numerous former Apple hardware employees through acquisitions and recruiting.
Read at Ars Technica
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