On the OpenAI donut as pet

John Gruber thinks the OpenAI device might be very different than a smart speaker:

I couldn’t give two shits about an OpenAI “smart speaker” if the point is just to play music and podcasts, but a handheld cross between R2-D2 and C-3PO, that could be fucking cool.

It’s a pet, it sounds like. A revolutionary pet, if they pull it off. And people love their pets.

I’m expecting a device that’s more useful than a robot companion, but I think John gets closer with the R2-D2 comparison than most people who have speculated about this. It’s going to be able to do things, unlike the Friend pendant, for example.

Apple’s strength with Siri AI is being able to leverage on-device app data. OpenAI’s strengths are a more expansive memory, more conversational live voice, and integration with agents.

Here’s a feature list that I think the device will focus on:

  • Asking questions about anything.
  • Daily scheduled reports about anything.
  • Very good conversational voice, powered by GPT-Live.
  • Brainstorming projects, with handoff to Codex when code needs to be reviewed.
  • Integration with email, calendar, and other ChatGPT skills.
  • Note-taking and reminders.
  • Basic companionship. OpenAI has learned a lot1 since GPT-4o’s disastrous sycophancy. This will be part of the “people love their pets” aspect.
  • Playing music and podcasts… maybe. Only if there’s a partnership with Spotify.

Some people will find this useful. Some people will find it dystopian. It’s been pretty clear that OpenAI has been working toward this since Sam Altman’s one-word “her” tweet in 2024.

  1. From an OpenAI blog post yesterday about guardrails for teens using ChatGPT: “…we trained the model to avoid romantic roleplay, age-restricted challenges, and presenting itself as a substitute for real-world relationships. In addition, we applied age-appropriate boundaries around sexual content, eating disorders and body-image risks, age-restricted goods, dangerous activities, and graphic violence. Finally, the model encourages connection with trusted people when a teen may need support.” ↩︎

Manton Reece @manton