Much like the last few years, exhibitors at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas have largely focused on advances in artificial intelligence (AI). All major manufacturers spoke to it…none more deeply than LG, whose 45-minute press conference began with AI…ended with AI…and had a lot of AI in the middle.
See more on how LG envisions AI’s transformation of Tech
How important is AI to LG? So important, that at CES, LG Electronics CEO William Cho revealed that the company has literally reorganized itself in accordance with three “pillars” – space…customer…solutions.
Last year, we learned that LG had redefined AI from “artificial” intelligence to “affectionate” intelligence. This seemed a little silly to me at first, but as I watched its press conference at this year’s CES, I think I detected what they are trying to accomplish with that AI rebranding. Certainly, one thing they are trying to do is to create a differentiated brand of AI that is exclusive to LG.
A Marketing & Branding Effort to De-Risk AI
But secondly, it seems to me that the company may be trying to de-risk AI in the minds of consumers. Some consumers are intimidated or even scared by AI. Perhaps they’ve heard the rumors that AI is dangerous…destined to take over the world and exterminate humans. So affectionate intelligence seems far less scary than artificial intelligence.
On this day last year, we introduced our new perspective on AI as affectionate intelligence. This is how we redefine AI – not just as a technology that understands users, but as one that genuinely cares for them.
William Cho, LG Electronics CEO
Of course, when the company delves into how they can make AI better tuned to homeowners’ preferences, they note that thanks to the hundreds of millions of connected devices LG has already deployed (and is continuing to deploy) around the world, they have a tremendous amount of data on you to pull from. In other words, consumers might get the idea that their devices are spying on them…and they wouldn’t be wrong.
An AI Capable of ‘Contextual Understanding’ to Deploy ‘Orchestrated Actions’
“Millions of LG home devices collect data in real-time, enabling contextual understanding and orchestrated actions as the LG AI home proactively handles everyday tasks and provides tailored services…” Cho told the gathered media.
The concept of an AI capable of “contextual understanding” and “orchestrated actions” is intriguing. But how much scanning by a disembodied entity in the cloud, are users willing to accept to have a smarter system?
LG’s AI Goal – Giving You a ‘Zero Labor Home’ Environment
LG says its goal is to provide an elevated user experience (UX) with LG products. Not only that, but its vision of the LG AI Home is that it offers homeowners a “zero labor home.” How is this accomplished via AI? The company says it takes three key elements: connected devices, capable AI agents, and integrated services.
The company notes that it already has a full assortment of connected electronics and appliances (with hundreds of millions already deployed globally) with AI-enabled operating systems…check! It has already launched the cutesy robot they call Q9 that wirelessly communicates with the system and devices and uses generative AI to communicate with the humans in the home – its capable AI agent…check! And thanks to its system that uses LLM to learn from all of the data those hundreds of millions of LG devices generate, the company is rapidly developing integrated services…check!
Pushing the AI Envelope Further – A Strategic Partnership with Microsoft / OpenAI
Pushing the AI envelope further – LG announced at CES that it has formed a “strategic partnership” with Microsoft, “the global leader in AI innovation.” Microsoft is a major investor in OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT. The partners are working together to drive AI innovation “to the next level.”
At Microsoft, we believe AI will fundamentally change the way we live and work, and we could not be more excited to partner with LG Electronics, the pioneers of smart connected spaces, to integrate AI into life’s everyday experiences. By bringing together Microsoft’s advanced AI capabilities with LGE’s leadership in consumer appliances and electronics, we are creating new possibilities for a more intelligent world and enabling more personalized experiences for millions of customers.
Judson Althoff, Microsoft Executive VP and Chief Commercial Officer
A Vignette with a Scene from Daily Life
To better show its perspective on how AI will influence our daily lives, LG prepared a couple of scenes or vignettes they called “slices of daily scenes” with live actors. The first scene takes place in a typical home in the morning. Dad comes downstairs in the morning and encounters Q9, to which (whom?) he begins to converse with as if it were human. Q9 gives him a report on overnight systems performance (“power usage managed”…”monitored the family sleep behavior overnight”…”temperature was raised five degrees last night…” and so on).
Dad tells Q9 to make sure the clothes in the dryer stay wrinkle-free. Q9 then addresses the appliance, “Got it. Wash tower (washer/dryer appliance), did you get that?” Q9 asked. A different voice – apparently the wash tower appliance – responds, “Leave it to me, I’ll make sure the clothes stay untangled until 5 pm before the family returns home.”
A Cute Vignette That At Times Bordered on Creepy
But some elements of these scenes bordered on the line between cute…and creepy. For example, when the AI agent Q9 – which had a feminine voice – compliments Dad on his beige sweater – “That beige colored sweater looks great on you!” Flattered, Dad answers, “Oh…thanks!” Or when Q9 tells Dad, “I heard Ethan coughing a few times while he was sleeping.” I think it also was an attempt to be cute or efficient – but at times, statements felt a little invasive. I don’t know how real the vignette is and it felt a little more like a scene out of a futuristic movie with your appliances talking in human voices having two-way conversations with each other (without human interaction). Again, it was designed to demonstrate their vision. The scene goes on, but I think you get the idea. As Dad heads out the door, Q9 tells him the weather forecast calls for afternoon showers and he should take an umbrella. Like I said…cute.
In a second vignette, Dad is in his car on the way to work. The car’s AI engages in a conversation with Dad in the same breathy female voice he heard at home, telling him that he forgot his coffee at home. “Would you like to grab some coffee? (Is she coming on to him?) It’s only a two-minute detour to your favorite cafe,” the AI agent assures him. When Dad says yes, the car goes ahead and orders the coffee so it’ll be ready when they get there.
AI Agent Reroutes Around Traffic, Takes Dad’s Heart Rate, Puts Soothing Music On to Calm Him
Later, the car – er, AI Agent – informs Dad there is a traffic issue ahead and reroutes his path to the office. It also informs Dad its detected his heart rate has increased a bit. “Are you sure about the coffee?” Dad, of course, continues his chat, telling the car he is nervous about an upcoming meeting. “I’ll play your focus and relax playlist to help you calm our nerves.”
Stuck in traffic, the car asks Dad if he would like her to patch him into a video conference with the office, which he does. Again, it’s not clear if this type of conversational multi-dimensional interaction with AI is real today…or LG’s vision of the future.
Home…Mobility…(and even Commercial) Spaces
In another possibly creepy demonstration…the car offers to play Dad a video “it” took using the car’s cameras and microphones of the family during a past vacation. Yikes!
Scenario one is a short demonstration of how LG believes AI will assist in everyday living in your “home space.” Scenario 2 attempts to show how AI assists you in your “mobility space.” LG says AI personalizes your environment – home or mobile – for your individual experience… everybody’s story will be different based on their preferences. LG’s AI agent is “capable of intelligent sensing and multi-modal based contextual understanding, which enables ambient and proactive care for our customers,” Cho told the press. The company also sees many opportunities in Commercial spaces as well.
X Boom Audio – AI is There as Well…Somewhere
Addressing audio – LG also announced a new collaboration with artist and entrepreneur will.i.am in the launch of a new audio series of X Boom smart speakers and earbuds. You probably know that will.i.am was a co-founder of the music group Black Eyed Peas and he has an extensive music career. But will.i.am is also an entrepreneur and heads his own company called fyi.ai (fyi stands for focus your ideas). Together with LG, he is instrumental in the design and development of LG’s new X Boom product line.
The company says that the transformation of X Boom is not just about redefining sound or design, “it’s about the integration of AI technology with AI sound, Ai calibration, and AI lighting that optimizes the sound and lighting based on their music genre and the room’s environment…” Not quite sure what all that means, but it keeps the AI acronym flowing.
But Is LG AI a Secure Environment?
By the end of the presentation, it was clear that LG sees AI everywhere – in its entertainment products…in its appliances…in cars…in computers…in portable electronics…in commercial spaces…EVERYWHERE. To the extent that AI improves the consumer’s use and enjoyment of tech products, I think that’s swell…but I have to admit, I retain some skepticism.
LG assured the gathered media that it understands that AI can raise security concerns.
[We] fully understand the expanded connectivity and open API environment can lead to questions over security and privacy. With LG Shield and on-device AI integrated into the home hubs and devices, every piece of personal data that is used to provide those seamless and proactive experiences will remain secure through multiple overlapping layers, protecting your data so that only you can benefit from it. That will always be our top priority. So rest assured, all you’ll have to worry about is how to best live the good life in LG’s Affectionate Intelligence home.
Brandt Varner, LG Home Appliance Solutions Sales
No ‘Walled Garden’ Here, LG Says It Supports Open Ecosystem
The company also says it is committed to an open architecture or “open ecosystem,” according to LG’s Brandt Varner, Home Appliance Solutions Sales.
[A]ll of this leads the AI home naturally towards an intelligent open ecosystem, and we recognize the AI home cannot be realized by any one company alone. To effectively connect every device and service, we must work together through collaboration and partnerships. So that we can all mutually benefit from this ecosystem with LG’s Athom [sounds like at home] acquisition, we aim to combine ThinQ platform technology with Athom’s open ecosystem to elevate the scalability needed for implementing AI homes to the industry’s highest levels.
Varner
How LG Goes ‘Open’
In July, LG acquired the Netherlands-based smart home platform known as Athom. CEO Cho noted that this acquisition was specifically undertaken to drive interconnectivity between LG’s in-house developed technologies and more than 170 brands of IoT (Internet of Things) devices. This is the greater ecosystem they are referring to. The company has also launched an API developer site to provide “spatial solutions” based on an open platform.
Is There Something More at Play Here?
Throughout the entire presentation, my antennae were tingling. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but there was something more here…something being hinted at, but not openly exposed. Until it was…
“By supporting the ThinQ API in global open smart home communities, individuals and partner companies will be able to develop and share various useful services,” Varner told journalists at CES.
“Furthermore,” Varner continued, “with subscription-based services, customers have the flexibility now to pick and choose. This itself will complete LGs goal for the home-as-an-experience model.” [Emphasis added]
That’s it! LG will be rolling out subscription-based features for your home systems. How will consumers respond? Will this be a positive, as they pick and choose which services they opt in for? Or will they push back on the company as happened to BMW back in 2023 when it rolled out heated seats-as-a-service?
I’ll Let AI Explain the BMW Subscription Controversy
Don’t know about the BMW controversy over its heated seats subscription strategy? I’ll let Microsoft Co-Pilot AI tell you more about that debacle…
The BMW heated seats controversy stemmed from the company’s decision to offer heated seats as a subscription service, meaning car owners would have to pay a monthly fee to activate a feature that was already physically installed in their car, causing significant backlash from customers who felt it was unfair to pay extra for a feature they had already purchased. [1, 2, 3]
Key points about the controversy: [1, 2, 3]
- Subscription model: BMW initially planned to allow customers to “unlock” features like heated seats through a monthly subscription, even if the hardware was already present in the vehicle. [1, 2, 3]
- Customer backlash: This idea received intense criticism from consumers who felt it was unreasonable to pay extra for a feature they should already have access to. [1, 2, 3]
- Public perception: Many saw this as a tactic to generate additional revenue by charging for basic functionalities that are typically included in the price of a car. [2, 3, 4]
- Change of course: Due to the negative feedback, BMW eventually reversed their decision and removed the heated seats subscription option, stating that they would no longer charge for features already present in the car. [1, 2, 3] [ED NOTE: Emphasis added]
Generative AI is experimental.
[2] https://www.bmwblog.com/2023/09/07/bmw-no-more-heated-seat-subscription/
LG Needs to Tread Lightly on Adding Subscriptions
There have been several surveys showing that consumers are getting tired of so many subscription options being forced on them for music, video, and TV consumption. However, many in the industry see this as a trend, others see it as a danger zone.
Learn more about LG by visiting lg.com.
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