“The worst product I’ve ever tested… so far”: MKBHD’s latest video trashes the Humane Ai Pin. Too easy ? I do not agree. Journalists and tech influencers should not be afraid to give their opinion.
The Humane Ai Pin caused a lot of discussion when it was announced, just like the Rabbit r1. This is called a wearable AI device. It attaches to clothing using a magnet. Designed as an alternative to the smartphone, it integrates a voice assistant capable of answering all questions, with an LLM engine, like GPT, a camera for filming and taking photos, which can recognize its environment and the objects presented to it, as well as a video projector that displays information as a monochrome image in the palm of your hand.
When I heard about the Humane Ai Pin, I admit I was torn. Excitement in the face of a technological novelty was mixed with a lot of reserve. Even after seeing the product at Mobile World Congress, my impressions remained very divided. Curious, I’m looking forward to discovering the finished version of the product. However, initial tests revealed that the product was far from complete.
Early reviews of the product first filtered through media outlets like The Verge. Then, Marques Brownlee, aka MKBHD, who is a real tech star on YouTube, dropped a bombshell with his video titled “ The worst product I have ever tested… so far “. It shook Twitter, the title really caused a stir. And this is not the first time that MKBHD has reacted like this. He had already caused a sensation not long ago with his test of the Fisker Ocean.
We could thus read very critical tweets about the work of MKBHD, such as that one :
This is like Canceling but for products. I don’t find it OK to make a highly negative video about the work of many people. It’s one thing to promise a review and conclude the product is bad, it’s another to trash from the title. What do you think?
It’s like the cancel culture, but for products. I don’t think it’s okay to make a very negative video about the work of many people. It’s one thing to promise a review and conclude that the product is bad, it’s another to trash it right from the title.
Journalists and tech influencers should not be afraid to give their opinion
On the one hand, journalists and tech influencers (and it would be wrong to say that they are all paid), have an essential role to play in providing information. In my opinion, they must provide honest and objective opinions on the products they test, in order to help consumers make informed choices. If a product doesn’t live up to its promises, it’s our duty to say so. It’s a question of ethics and respect for our audience.
However, I am aware that criticism that is too harsh or premature could slow down innovation. If every new idea or product was judged too harshly from its inception, it could discourage creators and businesses from innovating and taking risks.
Despite everything, it is not fair to blame a journalist or a tech influencer for giving their opinion on a product, even if it is very negative. Their role is precisely to test and evaluate products objectively, providing constructive criticism to consumers.
If the product does not live up to its promises, this must be clarified. However, it is important that journalists and influencers take into account, obviously, the context in which the product was developed and the innovation efforts that were made, in order to provide a fair and balanced review.
But I repeat, we have a duty to tell the truth, even if it is hard to hear. And, businesses must be willing to accept constructive criticism.
I find, moreover, that Humane reacted well to the criticism of its Ai Pin product. Instead of ignoring negative feedback or overreacting, the company provided a detailed roadmap of upcoming updates.
This is a good approach to show that it is capable of overcoming challenges and working towards improving its product. This helps maintain consumer trust, although it’s certainly not easy for them.
Is Ai Pin a failure?
Remember that a device built with AI cannot provide the same level of consistency that consumers expect. It’s obviously difficult to compare it to a smartphone, a camera, a PC, an electric car… This doesn’t mean that products such as the Ai Pin shouldn’t exist, because they can help push the boundaries of status. what. While the future of computing may not be Ai Pin, it will certainly be AI-centric and reduce manual interactions through software.
It would be unfair to consider Humane a failure simply because the first version of its product was flawed. Should we buy this product? Definitely not the version tested. The same goes for the Apple Vision Pro. Would I recommend purchasing this product now? No, honestly, it’s too expensive and too imperfect. That said, I don’t think it should be completely ignored. In my opinion, we should not blame a company that has ambition, motivation and optimism to iterate and learn. Let’s wait and see how Humane reacts.