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Mobile OS maker Jolla is back and building an AI device


On the fringes of MWC, the world’s biggest mobile phone show, TechCrunch is getting a demo of a new kind of AI device. The small black box sitting in

The small black box sitting in front of us on a table in a hotel lobby in Barcelona is designed to tap into the generative AI boom — making it another example of how the wheel of innovation is spinning up again in mobile. Here at MWC 2024 we’re hearing a lot of chatter about “next-generation” smart assistants, with telco talk rife with predictions that the end of apps as we’ve known and tapped on them is nigh as generative AI models rewrite the user interface rules. Discussing the vision for the product, Saarnio argues that amped up AI models, such as large language and multimodal models, and the powerful data mining and inferences associated with generative AI, change the game when it comes to processing personal information — whether it’s emails, calendar, contact lists or obviously sensitive stuff like health data — bringing both the potential for AI-powered insights to create huge value and utility for individuals; but also deep risk if the user has to offer up intimate access to their information in order to tap into these services.

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