OpenAI’s Secret AI Gadget Is in Trouble Before It Even Launches

OpenAI’s first-ever hardware project, designed with Apple’s legendary Jony Ive, was supposed to redefine personal technology. Instead, insiders say the company’s sleek screenless AI device is already facing two major crises that could derail the entire plan.

• The first is power. The always-on assistant demands massive computing resources that even OpenAI’s vast infrastructure can’t handle smoothly. Engineers are scrambling to keep it responsive without burning through costs or compromising performance.
• The second is creepiness. Early testers describe the AI’s personality as awkward—too robotic at times, uncomfortably human at others. Finding the right tone between helpful companion and digital stalker has become the team’s biggest creative headache.

What was meant to be the future of ambient intelligence now risks becoming tech’s next big cautionary tale. OpenAI wanted a revolutionary product. What it got, for now, is a reminder that even the smartest machines can’t escape the limits of human design.