This spring, the hype around artificial intelligence (AI) seemed like it was starting to hit reality. Several start-ups launched widely publicized hardware with a new generation of voice assistants, generating answers using technology like that behind OpenAI’s ChatGPT. In particular, buzzy devices like the Humane Ai Pin offered travelers an intriguing pitch: What if AI assistants could help you with contextual information while you’re traveling—not just travel planning but actual on-the-ground adventuring?
Imagine, for instance, you’re walking down an unfamiliar street; the Humane Ai Pin could use its onboard camera to identify where you are and offer context like a tour guide. Pop into a restaurant in a country where you don’t speak the language and it could explain each dish on the menu to you, then translate dietary needs to your server in near real time. It sounds compelling, but then the pin launched with reports of glitchy hardware and commonly inaccurate answers to questions—and a lot of tech reviewers looked back to their phones with greater appreciation than before.
“People are trying to be that first iPhone for this next-generation category,” explains Julian Chokkattu, the reviews editor at Wired, whom I spoke to while he was in the middle of testing several of these new AI devices. His recent reviews concluded these gadgets often have serious usability issues (like overheating in the case of the Humane Ai Pin), have frustratingly limited functionality at launch, and are prone to provide incorrect information. “It’s going to be some time before anyone really figures out what is going to stick and what’s gonna work,” he concluded.
That’s an apt assessment of AI writ large. The term AI itself has become an unclear and imprecise marketing buzzword, which doesn’t really help everyday travelers understand the various technologies grouped under that umbrella. For example, AI is often used to describe automated recommendation systems, which are not new; they have for years been used in travel-booking platforms such as Airbnb, where its machine-learning algorithms influence things like search rankings and personalize your experience. The kinds of AI getting all the hype right now—and the technology powering the core features in these gadgets—are the same large language models behind popular AI chatbots. And there’s little you can really do with these devices you can’t already do with ChatGPT on your current phone. That makes the options in this new wave of hardware seem more like novelties than reliable travel assistants.
Thus far, the lesson we can draw from the many poorly received AI gadget launches? The likeliest future of travel, at least in the short term, is happening on devices like those already in your pocket. Here are some key takeaways from the current state of AI gadgets that highlight why phones are likely to remain the dominant platform.
1. The flopping Humane Ai Pin is on ice, literally
“Will anyone want to actually wear the pin? Or will it go the way of previously hyped devices such as Google Glass?” is the question I posed about the Humane pin in Condé Nast Traveler’s 2024 trend report, observing how the next phase of AI hype will push beyond trip-planning chatbots to real-world applications, with all the ethical and privacy concerns that raises. With slow sales and negative consensus among product critics, the answer to the question seems to be the latter.
