I plan to have my own startup one day. Something at the intersection of art and AI, and I want the product to be real. Back to basics, back to hardware. Founder mode looks fun.
I’ll be using this substack to figure it out. First, I’m trying to predict what a practical future for AI looks like, and to do so I’ll examine each leading company’s vision of the future, starting with the og, OpenAI.
I think we have the opportunity here to kinda completely reimagine what it means to use a computer.
Sam Altman says with his vocal fry as he walks through a corporate office, amongst his employees, on his way to a meeting to explore this idea. Jony Ive is strolling down a park path, flowers blooming in the frame, on his way to have a chat with a friend. The two navigate the streets of San Francisco, the birthplace of modern innovation, walking past neighborhoods and landmarks, cementing their identity as locals, converging at a coffee shop. The space is busy, with patrons at every table, but Ive saved a stool at the corner of the bar. The two embrace. The bar and background are wooden, grounding the conversation taking place at the cavern. They begin discussing how their collaboration came to be over espressos, making sure to mention the broader team, signaling that this is a group effort. Io will build a family of devices for OpenAI.
Everything in this video is intentional. The two are having a conversation in person, in a real place, discussing how to make AI a part of the real word. The only way for it to feel real is to come offline. Altman’s vision is for AI to be with you at all times, and he’s betting that integration is the key.
The Apple parallel is front and center. Before the personal computer became mainstream, Steve Jobs had a vision for bringing this new technology to consumers.
Design the computer that we want to put into the book eventually even though we can’t put it into the book now.
When Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, Ive was promoted to senior vice president of industrial design and is credited with designing nearly every major Apple device — from the translucent plastic case of the original iMac, to the iPod and eventually the iPhone and the iPad.
I’m saddened to say that Apple may have lost their way. I had hoped their latest WWDC conference would surprise me, that Apple would announce an upgraded Siri and a fleet of new Apple Intelligence features that would render OpenAI’s device pursuit futile, but instead we got liquid glass. It’s still a good company (I haven’t sold), and I’m sure they’ll figure it out, but the mission of designing physical manifestations of new technologies for the everyday consumer is open for the taking.
I have this vision where ai agents take over the web, making social media so much more unbearable that people will increasingly come offline. When was the last time you thought of deleting Instagram?
I think Altman sees this too. In his latest essay, The Gentle Singularity, he reflects on how far we’ve come since the initial release of ChatGPT, and lays out the plan for what is to come.
Solve the alignment problem, meaning that we can robustly guarantee that we get AI systems to learn and act towards what we collectively really want over the long-term (social media feeds are an example of misaligned AI; the algorithms that power those are incredible at getting you to keep scrolling and clearly understand your short-term preferences, but they do so by exploiting something in your brain that overrides your long-term preference).
He wants us to care about AI, to rely on it. Trust them like you would a friend and a mentor. It’s always with you, and will respond when spoken to. Will it answer your prayers?
Disclaimer: These views are my own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization with which I am affiliated with.
If only AI could do customer service personable again it would be enough for me.