In an interview with The Verge, Magic Leap CEO Rony Abovitz revealed that his company will be working on two AI assistants for its much-anticipated augmented reality headset Magic Leap One, which shipped to developers in select cities this month.
Given that we’re still in the throes of an artificial intelligence hype cycle, it’s easy to dismiss such comments as an attempt to jump on the AI bandwagon.
Many companies have already exaggerated the capabilities of their artificial intelligence features to create hype around their products and services and secure funding for their companies.
Therefore, it is only natural to take Magic Leap’s AI claims with a grain of salt.
That is evident in Verge’s coverage of Magic Leap One’s debut, because there’s only a passing mention of the company’s plans to create AI assistants for the ARheadset at the end of the article.
And to be fair, Abovitz needs a reality check on his vision for AI assistants (which I’ll get to later).
But the truth is that artificial intelligence and AI assistants will play a very important role in the future of augmented reality and mixed reality headsets (and to a lesser degree VR headsets). The two will probably be very interdependent.
AI assistants will find their most useful domain in AR applications. Meanwhile AR headsets will largely depend on AI assistants to enable their users to accomplish tasks and interact with applications.
AI assistants are a luxury for computers and smart phones
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Advances in artificial intelligence in recent years have enabled computer software to perform tasks that were previously exclusively limited to humans.
Breakthrough in machine learning and deep learning has propelled AI subsets such as computer vision, natural language processing and generation and voice recognition.
These technologies have enabled our computing devices to better process and understand the world surrounding them. They’ve become key components in domains such as health tech, facial recognition, autonomous vehicles and more.
But more importantly, they’re enabling us to interact with our computers and environment in new ways.
The new capabilities in AI have led to an increase of interest and funding in the industry.
Many companies are frantically trying ways to incorporate AI into their applications because analysts have pushed forth the thought that machine learning will be the differentiator in most industries.
But in many cases, the companies develop artificial intelligence applications that are either irrelevant or broken. Or both.
A stark example is AI assistants and chatbots. Under the illusion that users will like anything that’s powered by AI, startups develop AI assistants and chatbots that try to accomplish tasks such as making purchases, ordering a cab and scheduling appointments on smartphones and computer.
But in most cases, those tasks already have apps on our phones and computers, and those applications have interfaces that are less confusing and easier to use.
For instance, why would I want to tell my chatbot to call an Uber when with a couple of taps, I’ll be able to access the app itself, which will provide a richer experience and more choices to make the request?
The key here is that computers and smartphones have been designed for interaction through their traditional input mediums: keyboards, mice, touchscreens, buttons.
Their applications have also been designed to provide better options and features when the user is directly staring at their display screens.
So, it’s interesting to see The Rock talk to Siri in the famous commercial that aired last year, but the truth is that most users rather go through their schedule and email by directly accessing their respective apps, because that’s where all the features are and how the applications were meant to be used.
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But those are the kinks. They will be ironed out as the industry matures. What’s important is that AI assistants are about to find a cozy and stable home in the AR industry, if the expensive headsets manage to overcome their challenges.
Source: The Next Web