Humane AI – Pico Laser Projection – $230M AI Twist on an Old Scam (2023)

Re:Humane AI – Pico Laser Projection – $230M AI Twist on an ... by brookst on Wednesday April 17, 2024 @08:09AM (#40063465)

It’s an unfortunate trend, but it is also an age-old reaction to hubris. Humane made the fatal PR mistake of trying to convince the world they had a revolutionary product that would change everything… without selling the benefits of the product.

That triggers a bunch of memes, from emperor’s new clothes to pride before a fall. Add in a general societal distrust of tech and AI, plus the age-old derision for geeks/nerds, and Humane could not have set themselves up better for fiasco if they had tried.

I do think it was all well meaning and earnest, not at all a scam. But their over-the-top marketing for v1 of an experimental tech gadget was really clueless.

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Re:Humane AI – Pico Laser Projection – $230M AI Twist on an ... by paulcole on Wednesday April 17, 2024 @11:20AM (#40065957)

> Humane made the fatal PR mistake of trying to convince the world they had a revolutionary product that would change everything

Segway walked so Humane could run.

As a college student I remember the lead up to the Segway reveal on Good Morning America. I was so excited for it that I set my alarm for 6AM to watch it. I remember being so confused and annoyed. Fool me once...

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Re:Humane AI – Pico Laser Projection – $230M AI Twist on an ... by unsupp0rted on Wednesday April 17, 2024 @11:27AM (#40066072)

You mean "Project Ginger" aka "IT"?

https://www.wired.com/2001/01/ginger-may-be-motorized-scoote...

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Re:Humane AI – Pico Laser Projection – $230M AI Twist on an ... by paulcole on Wednesday April 17, 2024 @01:11PM (#40067517)

lol I didn't realize it had been that long. maybe I was just looking for a bright spot in the world after 9/11?

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Re:Humane AI – Pico Laser Projection – $230M AI Twist on an ... by browningstreet on Wednesday April 17, 2024 @01:17PM (#40067565)

Segway worked exactly as advertised. They are still being made and sold. The problem is that the product didn't _mean_ what the company hoped.

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Re:Humane AI – Pico Laser Projection – $230M AI Twist on an ... by JohnFen on Wednesday April 17, 2024 @03:39PM (#40069227)

True, the Segway was not a scam at all. It was just amazingly overhyped and that's what killed it as a consumer product.

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Re:Humane AI – Pico Laser Projection – $230M AI Twist on an ... by paulcole on Wednesday April 17, 2024 @01:20PM (#40067610)

> Segway worked exactly as advertised

No.

Their PR and marketing was AWFUL to build the level of hype they did around the product they released.

If you're releasing a scooter for mall cops and tourists you don't go on Good Morning America to advertise it as a world-changing technology.

They advertised the release of a world-changing technology and released nothing like that.

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Re:Humane AI – Pico Laser Projection – $230M AI Twist on an ... by laborcontract on Wednesday April 17, 2024 @03:31PM (#40069129)

I remember the marketing around it. I was so incredibly excited too. They really marketed it as having discovered a room temperature superconductor.

Takes me back to a time when you were still able to shroud things with mystique and excitement. The Matrix, Blair Witch Project, and the PlayStation 2 with the emotion engine were all larger than life. Cloverfield was the last of that kind.

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Re:Humane AI – Pico Laser Projection – $230M AI Twist on an ... by unsupp0rted on Wednesday April 17, 2024 @02:55PM (#40068728)

"Entire cities will be redesigned around this new product, which I can't tell you about. But you should try to guess, it'll be fun."

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Re:Humane AI – Pico Laser Projection – $230M AI Twist on an ... by teachrdan on Wednesday April 17, 2024 @01:22PM (#40067638)

As I recall, the headline on Slashdot that day was, "This is IT?"

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Re:Humane AI – Pico Laser Projection – $230M AI Twist on an ... by dhosek on Wednesday April 17, 2024 @12:06PM (#40066606)

It revolutionized how mall cops got around.

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Re:Humane AI – Pico Laser Projection – $230M AI Twist on an ... by paulcole on Wednesday April 17, 2024 @01:13PM (#40067527)

I do think it's a really cool thing with good use cases but the marketing of "We'll design cities in new ways because of it" might've been overstating things a bit lol.

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