Humane Ai Pin Immensely Bad Reviews, And The Argument Over Ethics And Social Media Influence

The idea of having an AI that can be called at anytime, anywhere, is like having a butler, or a personal assistant, that is always present.

While AI-powered digital assistants live in mobile devices, users of the AI products have to "wake" the AIs to interact with them.

Smart home devices have AIs that are more readily available. However, they lack the mobility, and the sensors the AIs need to understand their environment.

Humane's Ai Pin is meant to be the best of both worlds.

The pin is designed to be the AI product that users can interact by asking it to do just about anything, but also mobile, as it can be worn as wearables.

The device simply promotes an AI-powered, screenless future.

But that is just about it, and also a lot less.

The idea behind the Humane AI Pin is a simple one: it wants to be a phone without a screen.

Instead of having users to open apps and tap on a keyboard, the little wearable puts everything behind an AI assistant, and an operating system Humane calls CosmOS.

With the wearable pin, users who wish to make a phone call, send a text message, calculate a tip, write something down, or learn something new, can ask the AI Pin, which can connect itself to the internet, and generate answers based on users' questions.

The device also has a projector, which replaces a screen, in which it can convey information.

Long story short, the AI Pin wants to become the beginning of a post-smartphone future, where users spend less time on the screen, and have more time in the real world.

Less digital zombies, to say the least.

Humane spent years developing the product, and has received huge funding, and hoping for the best when the times comes for it to launch the product to the market.

This is when the bad news started pouring in.

The issue here is that, users (at least at first) aren't able to fully trust the results from the Ai Pin's Ai Mic and Vision features.

Just like any other AI products, users should not fully trust everything it says.

This, is the first, and main problem with this wearable computer.

This happens because of the next issue, which is the unfortunate fact that there's not much else users can do with the device.

The AI Pin is an interesting idea that is so thoroughly unfinished and so totally broken in so many unacceptable ways.

If paying for a device that isn't polished isn't a burden enough, users require to spent an additional $24 monthly for a subscription.

Marques Brownlee, the massively influential YouTube tech reviewer whose channel moniker is MKBHD, delivered a scathing review of Humane's new AI Pin, in a video he titled "The Worst Product I've Ever Reviewed… For Now."

In his 25-minute-long review, he explained his thoughts in an in-depth look at the revolutionary device.

The first part looks at what the product was designed to do, and the second part explores what it actually delivers in real life usage.

Brownlee concluded that the pin is "“too much of a pain to use," and "bad at almost everything it does basically all the time."

He said that its responses to voice inquiries are often slow, and sometimes wrong because generative-AI chatbot technology is still far from perfect.

Battery life is also poor, with him saying that he had to switch the battery after just a few hours of heavy use.

The device is also hot, making it uncomfortable for prolonged usage.

There are plenty of other justifiable criticisms in the video, such as the lack of apps and the projector being almost unreadable outdoors in brighter conditions.

Brownlee isn't the only tech reviewer who reviewed the product, and gave it a bad review.

His complaints echo those of other reviewers.

Other reviewers said that the device is "too bare-bones and not all that useful," and that it simply cannot work as promised.

Others said that the device "is a disaster," practically "useless," "horrendous," and in summary, "not worth buying."

Their scathing words have led to an online debate over whether their reviews were fair or even ethical.

Brownlee's opinions alone can significantly affect Humane.

With more than 18 million subscribers to his channel alone, Brownlee could make the company go bust.

While the reviewers are doing what they can to give their honest opinions, together, these influencers' bad reviews could definitely kill the company.

While his review is bad, Brownlee applauded the build and craftsmanship of the device.

He said he loved the concept of an AI assistant, and respected the Humane team for attempting to create something new.

He also said that the device can be very useful on those occasions it works normally, and the lack of display is a good thing for those people who desire more time away from screens.

But still, Brownlee's influence is so huge, and people started debating over the ethics and the social media influence in general.

For example, a commenter said that Brownlee's review is "distasteful" and "almost unethical" given his huge following.

"With great reach comes great responsibility."

"Potentially killing someone else's nascent project reeks of carelessness."

"The power to crush a company shouldn't be taken lightly, and that headline is what most people will see."

"MKBHD bankrupted a company in 41 seconds."

"This clip will be the gravestone for Humane."

"The most trusted tech reviewer saying it's the worst product he's ever reviewed is going to eviscerate sales."

But Humane doesn't want to too stressed, despite being caught in the bad publicity

Sam Sheffer, Humane's head of new media, called Brownlee's review "honest" and "solid," adding that "feedback is a gift," and said the company would "continue building."

"AI Pin and its AI OS, Cosmos, are about beginning the story of ambient computing," Humane’s co-founders, Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, said.

"Today marks not the first chapter, but the first page. We have an ambitious roadmap with software refinements, new features, additional partnerships, and our SDK. All of this will enable your AI Pin to become smarter and more powerful over time. Our vision is for Cosmos to eventually exist in many different devices and form factors, to unlock new ways to interact with all of your devices."

At this time, it fails to do too many basic things, and that it also cannot do many other things well enough.

But as the overall state of AI improves, the AI Pin should get better.

People are still bullish.