The biggest (and creepiest) AI innovations of 2024
As the year comes to a close, artificial intelligence continues to be the major trend in the realm of technology.
2024 was a big year for AI as companies rolled out developments that integrated the software into users' daily lives and creepy implementations that looked like they were out of movies and shows like Black Mirror.
Let's look back at some of the biggest AI innovations from the past year.
ChatGPT-4o
Earlier in May, OpenAI released ChatGPT-4o, a model that can generate content, see, and hear—just like the AI in the movie Her.
The new features in the new model include a more conversational real-time voice mode and interpreting languages.
The AI can also interpret surroundings through your smartphone camera. In one demonstration, it learned that an OpenAI employee was getting ready to shoot.
"Hmmm from what I can see it looks like you're in some kind of recording or production set-up with lights, tripods… you might be gearing up to shoot a video or make an announcement?" the ChatGPT bot said.
Earlier in December, OpenAI added ChatGPT to iPhones and launched its ChatGPT-powered internet search available to all users as the company's answer to Google.
Apple Intelligence
Apple finally played catch-up to other smartphone makers. The Cupertino-based company rolled out Apple Intelligence, its "personal intelligence system" for its devices including the iPhone, Mac, and more.
The AI platform can generate and edit images and text. It also gave Siri a major update as it's now more conversational and takes into consideration personal context by drawing up information from your photos, conversations, and calendar, all while protecting its user's privacy using Private Cloud Compute.
During its iPhone 16 launch in September, Apple boasted about how the new models are the first device to be built with Apple Intelligence in mind. ICYDK, the AI system didn't launch until October.
The iPhone 16 series is among the select gadgets to be compatible with Apple Intelligence—other models include the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max.
AI mental health mirror
This year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) gave a glimpse of the coolest and weirdest implementation of AI. One unusual way the tech was used was by putting it in a mirror.
BMind, a smart mirror powered by AI, claims to be able to improve a user's mental health by determining mood and evaluating one's mental state. Users can then select recommended exercises and activities to elevate their mood.
WeHead's ChatGPT face
Speaking of odd AI implementations, company WeHead gave ChatGPT a face.
Unveiled at CES 2024, the gadget, which looks like a mannequin head, sits on your desk and looks like two phones put together. The robot-like structure gives it an eerie look, but this aims to provide users with spatial videos for 3D video calls.
Tesla Optimus Robots and the Cybercab
In October, Elon Musk took the wraps off the Cybercab, a fully driverless robotaxi that he predicts will be available by 2027.
The fully electric car has no steering wheels or pedals and is equipped with gullwing doors. The Tesla CEO also touted that the autonomous cars would be 10 to 20 times safer than human-driven rides and would cost less at about 20 cents per mile.
Musk's Optimus robots were also showcased at the launch event as they stood among the crowd and even chatted with them, served drinks, and played games. According to the Tesla website, the bots will be able to help with daily tasks like house chores and errands.
AI pins
Tech companies have been exploring ways to make AI accessible even without a smartphone. Enter the Humane AI Pin and Rabbit R1. These two gadgets made the rounds in April and May as tech reviewers tried them out to disappointing results.
The Rabbit R1 was designed to perform functions like searching the web, ordering food, playing music from Spotify, and recognizing objects through its camera. Meanwhile, the Humane AI Pin is also an AI assistant in a box that lets you make phone calls, send messages, and search the web without your smartphone.
While the devices promise useful features, tech reviewers found that the pins have bad battery lives and are plagued by buggy performance.
First artwork by humanoid robot sells for over P58 million
AI is making waves in the art world, too. Auction house Sotheby's sold artwork by Ai-Da, the world's first ultra-realistic robot artist, for about P58 million in November.
The painting, a 2.2-meter portrait of mathematician Alan Turing, went for P1,084,800.
"The key value of my work is its capacity to serve as a catalyst for dialogue about emerging technologies," the bot, who speaks through AI, said.
Ai-Da, named after computer programmer Ada Lovelace, is an ultra-realistic robot with a face, eyes, and a brown wig. For her work, she used cameras to look at pictures of Turing and create the painting.
Hospital uses AI to find breast cancer
In November, an English woman said AI was able to detect she had breast cancer after she was cleared in a routine scan.
Sheila Tooth, 68, had a mammogram at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, which is using AI to improve breast cancer screening by spotting cancer that human readers might miss.
The cancerous cells in her body were undetectable and had not been spotted until AI found them.
The hospital she went to was among the 15 trusts across the United Kingdom that participated in a two-month project using AI to analyze mammograms.
For the project, the AI reviewed 12,000 "normal" mammograms. It later suggested under 10% of the results be re-read by a clinical panel to identify potential cancers. Eleven women were asked to return, and five of them were found to have breast cancer.
First AI beauty pageant
The World's first AI beauty pageant was held in July, with Morocco's Kenza Layli crowned as the inaugural Miss AI.
Layli, an AI-generated character, has nearly 200,000 followers on Instagram and hopes to bring "diversity and inclusivity" to the world of AI influencers.
“Winning Miss AI motivates me even more to continue my work in advancing AI technology,” she said in a speech. “AI isn’t just a tool; it’s a transformative force that can disrupt industries, challenge norms and create opportunities where none existed before… As we move forward, I am committed to promoting diversity and inclusivity within the field, ensuring that everyone has a seat at the table of technological progress.”
Layli beat out 1,500 other AI-generated women for the title of Miss AI.
SM Entertainment’s first AI K-pop artist
AI personalities aren't just in pageants, they're in the world of K-pop, too. SM Entertainment, in September, debuted Naevis, a virtual idol created with AI.
According to SM Entertainment's Park Jun-young, Naevis' voice is developed by mixing a variety of voices to make her sound unique.
Before her announcement in August, the virtual idol appeared in aespa's music videos and was even featured in the group's song Welcome to My World.
