How Open-Source is Stimulating a new era of AI Devices and Partnerships

And how Voice AI goes mainstream in an unexpected device.

Hey Everyone,

In how the Machine Economy might manifest, what role will Open-source and decentralized AI devices play? How might crucial partnerships foster such a utopian world?

So if you are wondering what’s going on with the Rabbit r1 or with new open-source AI device launches like Open Interpreter, there is yet another one to mention.

What we are seeing are Open-source versions of Avi’s Tab, Rewind’s pendant, and Humane’s Pin that appear much less costly coming into being.

What is Friend?

FRIEND - an AI Wearable that: -

• Works 24+ hours on a single charge

• Costs ~$20

• Remembers what you say, gives you feedback

• Understands you via voice or chat

• Has 2 apps (one for device and one standalone)

This is by Nick Shevchenko and his other co-founders.

Some believe this not just another gadget; it's a movement towards democratizing AI wearable face by making it simple, affordable, and accessible to all.

Shubham Saboo wrote about a few of its highlights:

Here are the key highlights:

1. Open Source Design: Whomane’s Friend, features an open-source design, making it accessible for anyone to build and modify.

2. Cost-Effective: Costs less than $100 to assemble, significantly lower than many competitors in the market.

3. Easy Assembly: Composed of just four main components readily available on Amazon, making it straightforward to assemble even for beginners.

4. Personalization and Utility: Offers real-time AI audio processing and the capacity for users to add custom software. A camera can also be added for enhanced functionalities.

5. Versatile Use: Suitable for a wide range of applications including recording, receiving proactive feedback, and software development experimentation.

Visit the Github: https://github.com/BasedHardware/Friend

Nik is a serial entrepreneur at Thiel Fellow graduate, so it’s super interesting what he is doing with Adam.

How Voice AI will go Mainstream

I’ve been writing about Voice AI for now well over a decade. There is one partnership that I think is actually going to be impactful in how AI devices might be popularized and that is how the Rabbit r1 has partnered with everybody’s favorite voice AI company, ElevenLabs.

The Rabbit r1 won’t only receive real-time info from Perplexity but its first batch of devices (100,000) will ship out March 31st, 2024. The company is also hosting a pickup party for buyers of all batches in New York City at the end of April.

Rabbit has done a very promising thing, it’s partnered with ElevenLabs to power voice commands on its device. This in my view will legitimize the product and make it more immersive. How? The ElevenLabs integration will bring state-of-the-art AI voice technology to the r1 and allow for even more natural conversational interactions.

More Natural Human Like Interactions with your AI

At the launch, the feature will be available only in English with one voice option. ElevenLabs said that while r1 was poised for voice interaction from the start, the company’s low latency models will make interactions more human-like.

ElevenLabs is one of the best AI startups that enable realistic human-like NLP with Generative AI.

What can you Actually Do with a Rabbit r1?