Yes, says a theory that originated in San Francisco and was the subject of a Bloomberg opinion piece this week. Ever since OpenAI first acquired former Apple design chief and superstar Jony Ive’s startup ‘io’ (ssshhh) for a whopping $6.4 billion, it’s been a total mystery as to what Ive will create for the company as design chief.
“The former Apple designer loves the age-old tool, perhaps enough to make it a landmark AI device,” writes Parmy Olson, who says Jony Ive has a “personal affinity with pens, having built up a personal collection”. She says the theory comes from Max Child, who founded the startup Volley, which makes voice-based games for smart speakers like Amazon’s Echo.
OpenAI won’t reveal what its first gadgets will be yet, but recent filings in another court case reveal that it won’t have a screen, and you won’t wear it, like this wearable ChatGPT recorder. A recording of an OpenAI staff event also revealed that it will fit in a person’s pocket or sit on a desk. “My money is on a pen,” Olson said.
“It will be fully aware of a user’s surroundings and act as a ‘third device’ to complement – not replace – their smartphone. It will be unobtrusive,” she speculates. She thinks a projector might compensate for a screen, while it could feature a microphone or camera “to not only scan text for analysis but also a person’s wider environment.”
She warns that “as intrusive as that sounds, constant monitoring (or surveillance) of our lives is core to the vision for AI tools that increasingly step into the role of daily companions.”
Read More: OpenAI scrubs all mention of Jony Ive’s ‘io’ start-up (for now)
What is also worth noting is that “such monitoring is destined to become normalised, especially when paired with AI tools pitched as companions that bring new forms of convenience.”
If you were worried about your privacy before the rise of artificial intelligence and the spectre of constant monitoring for later data mining – which was the subject of an early Black Mirror episode about an obsessive husband – then your worst fears are unfolding.
“Turning a pen into a listening device probably sounds like a vile contortion of its status as a solitary tool for expression.”
But, she adds, “consider that glasses may be gradually adopting a darker image too. Having long symbolised bookishness, glasses are increasingly being fitted with cameras, bestowing on their wearers the aura of a potential cheat or creep.”
“Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses have secretly shown users what chess moves to make, or been plugged into facial-recognition software to identify people on the street, or by social media influencers to film people without their consent.”
