AI to surge forward and give us time
The world’s biggest tech companies say 2024 will be the year AI comes to life, freeing up people from chores and allowing smart appliances to work more seamlessly together.
Artificial intelligence technology has made significant strides since ChatGPT’s public launch in November 2022.
In 2023, companies worldwide raced to declare themselves an AI company and released products showcasing it.
But Samsung Australia’s head of consumer electronics Jeremy Senior said 2024 was the year when the technology’s impact would begin to be at a broad consumer level.
Mr Senior told The Australian at CES in Las Vegas this week that smart appliances would work better together to help people save money on their power bills and curb food waste and other benefits.
“Instead of those simple, one-off scenarios such as the dryer notifying you when it’s finished, it’s now about how your refrigerator can examine the ingredients that are within the fridge, and then formulate recipes,” he said.
The recipe function is one of the updates to the company’s smart fridge, the Bespoke 4-Door Flex. This connectivity will form the backbone of the connected future, allowing some products to later be upgraded via software to make more decisions and have options for automation.
“What we will see more and more, and the reason why Samsung’s breadth of the ecosystem is so important, is more products talking to more products to deliver more beneficial outcomes,” he said.
Connectivity extends into partnerships with competitors, such as this week Elon Musk’s Tesla. Samsung customers can now monitor their Powerwall home battery Solar Inverter, Wall Connector and electric vehicles in its SmartThings app. Further partnerships announced this week include Korean automotive giant Hyundai and Kia, allowing SmartThings connectivity on infotainment screens, with customers able to start their vehicle, control airconditioning and open and close windows from their mobile app.
LG is similarly making strides with connectivity and the use of the technology. Chief executive William Cho said the company was deploying AI to provide “realtime intelligence” to ensure its devices worked more smoothly together.
The authors travelled to CES as guests of Samsung and Hisense.