AI Continues Journey From Lab to Lifestyle at Mobile World Congress

Day Two at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, saw more evidence that artificial intelligence (AI) is moving from the lab to the connected economy.

Specifically, the event highlighted on Tuesday (Feb. 27) a range of new AI solutions, merging software and hardware to extend the use of chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT across various sectors.

For example, AI-powered email platform Superhuman is rolling out a new feature that uses AI to offer instant reply suggestions, making email management faster and more efficient. This tool aims to help users breeze through their inboxes by providing three smart, context-aware responses. The feature is similar to Gmail’s smart replies, but Superhuman claims their product offers more tailored responses to the conversation.

The idea is straightforward: when you’re about to reply to an email, Superhuman shows you three quick options. If you pick one, it crafts a complete, personalized sentence for you. For example, suppose you tap “Interested” in response to an invitation to speak on a panel. In that case, it automatically generates a polite, full-sentence reply using the sender’s name for a personal touch.

Meanwhile, AI startup Humane is making its first move abroad by partnering with South Korea’s SK Telecom.

The company’s news follows a slight delay in the U.S. launch of its innovative product, the Ai Pin, now expected to ship in mid-April instead of March. Humane, which was founded in 2017 by ex-Apple executives Bethany Bongiorno and Imran Chaudhri, has attracted over $200 million in funding from big names like Microsoft and OpenAI’s Sam Altman, sparking curiosity about its secretive project.

Last June, the company unveiled the Ai Pin: a wearable device that combines advanced AI, sensor technology and a mini projector to display information on any surface. Priced at $699, plus a $24 monthly subscription for a phone number and unlimited data, the Ai Pin positions Humane as a new player in the mobile network world, launching with T-Mobile as its partner in the U.S.

The startup Jolla is catching attention with a new device designed for privacy and security in the generative AI era.

The device, described as a “black box for your life,” acts as a private cloud and AI router, allowing users to securely run AI queries on their own data. It updates the idea of personal servers for today’s needs. Jolla uses open-source AI, including Meta’s LLaMA 2, focusing on user interface and functionality without needing a large team of AI engineers.

The second day of the event mirrored the first day in its introduction of AI-powered telecom technology.

For instance, China-based Honor, a smartphone company, said Monday (Feb. 26) that it is developing an “intent-based user interface” to make using different devices and systems smoother, PYMNTS reported.

It also said it was doing a global launch of its newest flagship phone, the Magic 6 Pro. The company has announced plans to eventually roll out an AI-powered eye-tracking feature to detect when a user glances at notifications within its “Magic Capsule” and automatically open the corresponding app, eliminating the need for physical taps, per the report.

Google also said during the event that it was integrating AI across more of its products, including smartphones, vehicles and wearable devices.

The new features will utilize Google’s large language model Gemini to compose messages, generate AI-powered captions for photos, summarize texts via AI for Android Auto, and facilitate access to passes on Wear OS, PYMNTS reported.

AI is growing in prominence and influence, even appearing in Super Bowl ads earlier this month.

The tech featured heavily during the game, with tech giants and AI pioneers from Microsoft and Google to eCommerce marketplace Etsy and cybersecurity company CrowdStrike using their advertising spots to showcase the impact of AI in delivering products and services. The Minions movie franchise and sports drink BodyArmor both chose to parody AI-generated content and deepfakes.

“The positioning an innovation takes can tell you a lot about it,” PYMNTS wrote at the time. “If Sunday’s multimillion-dollar ad spots are to be believed, AI firms are set on influencing and improving many facets of daily life and commerce.”

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