The dark satanic rumour mill has manufactured a hell on earth yarn claiming that OpenAI is building a screen-free smart speaker that wants to be a home computer, but with extra creepy mate energy.
According to Bloomberg, the device is meant to control a smart-home kit, play media, answer questions, respond to messages and plug into ChatGPT’s bag of tricks. Bloomberg cited people familiar with the matter, which is usually code for someone close enough to the PowerPoint deck.
The gadget could be shown off this year and released in 2027. It would be OpenAI’s first serious hardware punt after buying former Fruity Cargo Cult Apple design boss Jony Ive’s io products.
“It will help control smart-home appliances, play media, answer questions, respond to messages and tap into the range of capabilities offered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT,” Bloomberg said.
Job’s Mob sued OpenAI last week, accusing it of stealing trade secrets. OpenAI thinks the device is different enough from anything Job’s Mob sells and is unlikely to trample on iPhone maker secrets, according to the report.
OpenAI’s hardware hopes depend on doing something genuinely new, rather than making another plastic tube that barks weather forecasts. The smart speaker is supposed to become more personalised and proactive as it learns more about its owner.
The company wants the device to anticipate needs, surface information and become an expert on its user. That sounds useful until it starts reading your emails and deciding it knows you better than your family.
The speaker is designed to stay in the home, but it can be moved around the house easily. Its party trick is meant to be personality and a humanlike connection, because apparently a talking cylinder now needs emotional depth.
The device includes mechanical parts that move by themselves, making it seem alive rather than merely obedient. It will draw on personal information, including emails, to understand its owner, while exact plans may change during development and the legal bunfight.
Its communication system will rely on GPT-Live, a more advanced version of ChatGPT Voice Mode rolled out this month. The new voice mode can listen and talk at the same time, adapt more naturally in conversations and process information quickly.
OpenAI describes the product internally as a first-of-its-kind computer built for AI and busy people. It includes a camera, sensors, advanced AI models and a rechargeable battery, so users can drag their silicon chum from the kitchen to the lounge or bedroom.
