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Here’s what Jony Ive and Sam Altman revealed about their secretive AI hardware project at OpenAI’s Dev Day
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Sir Jony Ive, the legendary designer behind Apple's most iconic products, held a conversation at Fort Mason to discuss their collaboration on building a new family of AI-powered devices. The partnership was solidified by OpenAI's acquisition of Ive's hardware startup Io, and the discussion focused on the philosophy and ambition behind their secretive collaboration. Ive articulated a vision to fix our broken relationship with technology, which he believes is a profound and therapeutic mission. The collaboration was years in the making, but the launch of ChatGPT provided a sudden and clarifying purpose for Ive's post-Apple design collective, LoveFrom. Ive described the current state of technology as deeply flawed and believes that AI can be the solution to this problem, rather than an extension of it. The primary goal for the new devices is emotional well-being, rather than productivity, and Ive wants the tools to make people happy, fulfilled, and less anxious. The project involves a family of devices that will likely be a departure from the screen-centric world we inhabit, with reports suggesting a palm-sized device without a screen that relies on cameras and microphones to perceive its environment. Ive argued that it would be absurd to assume that today's AI technology should be delivered through products that are decades old, and the goal is to create something that feels entirely new yet completely natural. The conversation concluded without a product reveal, leaving the audience with a philosophical blueprint rather than a technical one, and Ive is betting on a screenless future powered by OpenAI's intelligence to make people less anxious and more human. The central narrative is clear, with Ive, the designer who put a screen in every pocket, now working towards a future where technology is more intuitive and less intrusive.
