OpenAI's new AI gadget: Will it be mightier than the sword?

Speculation has arisen over Jonathan Ive designing a smart pen

- PARMY OLSON

The hottest new collaboration in Silicon Valley is between OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Jonathan Ive, the former Apple designer credited with giving iPhones, Macs and AirPods their sleek look. Altman bought Ive's startup for $6.5 billion earlier this year, releasing a slickly produced video to tease a new 'family' of devices that would let people "use AI to create all sorts of wonderful things."

OpenAI has kept its plans a secret, but here's what we know: The first so-called AI device won't have a screen and it won't be something you can wear, according to recent filings in an unrelated court case. It probably won't look anything like the Humane Pin, a pioneering AI gadget that failed spectacularly.

So what will it be? My money is on a pen. Altman told staff in May that the new device would be able to fit in a pocket or sit on a desk, according to a recording of the meeting reported by the Wall Street Journal. 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.