😬 AI companions goes bust

👉 What the fact?!

All the cool peeps know AI companions are what’s cool right now.

Right…?

Well, if you’ve you seen MBHD’s latest reviews of Rabbit R1 and Humane AI you’ll probably the technology hasn’t exactly reached it's full potential yet.

It’s just a matter of time before AI will be part of our everyday wearables; from phones, to rings, to companions like the Rabbit R1. However it is clear that one of two scenarios are true as of right now:

1. We are not ready: For the past 20 years mobile phones has been part of our every day lives, and changing that habit is not an easy task. Some of us even have trained muscle memory to reach for the phone every time we have a calm moment; almost like a default action.
   
   And a default action definitely isn’t something that is easy to break.
   

2. The technology is not ready: Watching reviews of the mentioned products makes it very clear that our ambitions far outreach the possibilities of today’s technology.
   
   From slow loading times, backwards engineering, and just overall interesting UX choices.

And regardless of which scenario is true, both have the same result; a product that is doomed to fail.

🔥 Potential impact

Checking the discourse online you’ll find that there are a lot of upset individuals. People that argue channels with massive followings (and influence) – like MKBHD – should not publish highly critical reviews of products.

Why? Because “it might take down an entire company, along with the people working there”.

Basically it’s a conversion of with great power comes great responsibility. 

So what’s the solution? Should tech outlets and influencers never be critical of new products? Well, obviously, that would not be a sustainable solution.

Companies of all sizes needs to be held accountable. Espcially when the hype surrounding them outgrows the capabilities of the shipped product. Because after all, feedback is how anything and anyone improves.

When the dust has settled and everyone calms down, more likely outcome of this is…

Nothing, almost.

Companies will continue to produce products not living up to their own marketing, and reviewers like MKBHD will continue to call them out for it.

And eventually, if it all works out we’ll start seeing more complete products be launched that live up to the hype of the marketing.

👋 See you next Tuesday!

What is your take on all this? Respond directly to this email, we respond and would love to hear your thoughts.