AI Industry Updates, April 2024: Practical Tools & Easy Access

• Workplace Boosts: As explored in Work Tech: AI & The Hybrid Office, generative AI could streamline rote professional tasks. New application Google Vids aims to simplify the process of making videos for employee training, pitch decks or meeting recaps (among other scenarios). Users can prompt AI to produce a video, or they can manually upload and arrange content from Google Workspace apps (Docs, Sheets, etc.). The tool, rolling out in beta this June, aims to make video development easier, regardless of skill.
  
  
• Aggregating Information: To help process vast quantities of information, American platform Aboard deploys AI to trawl online data and identify findings related to a single theme, like décor inspiration or trip ideas, which are then displayed visually (akin to Pinterest). As people experiment with AI chatbots as a web search replacement, this type of research assistant is likely to appeal.
  
  
• Smarter Assistants: South Korean tech company Vtouch leverages AI’s natural language processing skills with its Wizpr smart ring (released March 2024) that acts as a voice-controlled assistant. Users speak into the device and receive answers via earphones on queries pertaining to messages, weather, location, and more.
  
  
• Easy Access: Smart brands are making AI tools easier to access. In April 2024, Norwegian web browser Opera added support for more than 150 large language models (LLMs) via its Opera One Users select the LLM they want to try, download it to their device (for security and processing speed) and engage with it through their Opera browser.
  
  Meanwhile, California-based OpenAI no longer requires a log-in to access its ChatGPT chatbot, increasing the likelihood that consumers will choose it over a competitor.

For more, see Consumer Electronics Trends: 24/25.