TLDR:
– Startups are in a competition to create the “iPhone of artificial intelligence”
– Rabbit, a technology startup, unveiled its contender: a small, walkie-talkie style device called the Rabbit r1
– The r1 is a portable AI-first device that can interact with users in natural language and carry out tasks on their behalf
– Retailing at $199, the r1 is a cheaper competitor to other wearable devices like the Humane Ai Pin and smart-glasses with AI assistants
– The r1 is based on a new type of AI system called a “large action model” which is trained on graphical user interfaces to navigate and take actions in the real world
– Users need to sign into their accounts via Rabbit’s web portal and a dedicated AI agent runs on an external server to execute actions
– The r1 has a privacy feature with a “push to talk” button instead of an always-on microphone
– There are questions about whether new hardware is necessary for interacting with AI agents, as intelligent phones could potentially handle these tasks in the future
– The trend toward AI agents taking actions in the real world raises safety concerns, as powerful agential AIs could pursue dangerous goals