According to the media The Information, former Apple designer Jony Ive is said to have entered into discussions with Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, for the design of a new product based on artificial intelligence. A very confidential project for the moment.
We don’t know much about this meeting or what was said there, but the simple fact that it took place is intriguing. According to two sources close to the case cited by The InformationSam Altman, boss of OpenAI, and Jony Ive have reportedly started discussions around a new product based on artificial intelligence.
We do not know at this stage what the precise nature of this device would be, nor if it will eventually see the light of day at OpenAI (father of ChatGPT), but we are told in any case that the CEO of the group and the former designer of Apple, in particular, have reportedly debated what a device designed specifically for the AI era could look like.
A third participant, and not just anyone
Just as interesting, it is rumored that Masayoshi Son, boss of the Japanese holding company SoftBank, owner of ARM, also participated in the discussion. However, we do not know to what extent the latter was involved in the exchange, and if he will really be involved in the design of a possible product signed OpenAI. None of the participants in this conversation wanted to comment… which is not surprising at this point.
For context, Jony Ive has worked with Apple for nearly 20 years, since the firm’s “renaissance” at the end of the 90s (it was he who designed the colorful iMacs which then helped to relaunch the brand, as well as as the first generations of iPhone among others), until 2019, when it left. Quickly afterwards, the person concerned co-founded the designer firm LoveFrom with the Australian Marc Newson.
OpenAI, for its part, met with overwhelming success by launching ChatGPT a few months ago. Star of generative AI, the tool quickly attracted the attention of Microsoft and other Tech giants, who currently continue to invest billions of dollars in the development of ever more efficient AI models.
The future of Numerama is coming soon! But before that, our colleagues need you. Do you have 3 minutes? Take their survey