"ChatGPT helped people understand the benefits of using AI"

Humane Inc. Co-founders Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno on AI, their product, the company's vision, and more

- Aayush Ailawadi

Power couple Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno has been involved in the making of some of the most iconic tech products. Chaudhri, a BritishAmerican designer, spent nearly 22 years at Apple and played a crucial role in shaping the design and user experience of some of its most popular products. Having worked alongside Steve Jobs and Apple CEO Tim Cook, Chaudhri was one of the main forces behind the design language for the Mac, iPod, iPhone, iPad, and more. Bongiorno, a software engineer who spent more than eight years at Apple, worked on iOS and macOS and played a pivotal role in the launch of the original iPad.

While they understand the transformative power of technology, they also recognised a growing pain point—the constant pull of smartphones and the way tech was beginning to overshadow humanity. They believe that “the future is not your face”. This shared vision became the genesis of Humane Inc., founded in 2018.

Their first product is the Ai Pin, which imagines a future where AI seamlessly integrates into our everyday lives, an almost inconspicuous companion whispering useful suggestions whenever invoked. A screen-less wearable, the Ai Pin acts as an intelligent assistant, which reduces your screen time on the smartphone. A simple voice command or gesture allows you to capture a photo, translate a conversation on the go, or summarise your chats using AI. And if you want to see the output instead of hearing it, the pin can project it onto your palm with an in-built laser projector. The device runs on its own operating system, Cosmos, which can be powered by the multiple large language models (LLMs) for Gen AI available in the market, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.