What is an "AI Appliance"?

As we move into the AI era of devices and appliances, it seems inevitable that some will seek to redefine devices as “AI appliances,” even if most firms will instead seek only to develop AI apps that run on standard appliances (phones, PCs, sensors). 

Such AI appliances might feature personalization, predictive maintenance, contextual awareness, continuous learning, proactive assistance or enhanced security. 

AI-powered PCs could be designed to support on-the-device machine learning and natural language processing or provide augmented reality experiences. 

AI appliances likely will be able to learn about their users' preferences and habits, and tailor their operation accordingly.

AI appliances will be able to monitor their own performance and predict when they are likely to need maintenance. Also, AI appliances will be able to anticipate their users' needs and provide assistance without being asked.

Enhanced security: AI appliances will be able to detect and prevent security breaches.

Here are some specific examples of AI appliances that are already being developed:

Software Applications wants to develop a desktop PC operating system optimized for generative artificial intelligence. The effort is early so it is hard to say much about what they might develop. 

An example the firm cites is that “sometimes you’ve got a browser window open with a schedule on it, and you just want to say, ‘add this to my calendar,’ and somehow, there’s no way to do that.” An AI PC would be able to do so. 

Most other startups such as Rewind AI,  are building personalized AI systems for the desktop. Rewind AI seems focused on the function of note taking on Mac and iOS devices. 

Moveworks develops automated IT support solutions that use AI to monitor and troubleshoot IT systems, identify and resolve issues, and provide proactive support to users.

Coactive AI uses AI to automate the process of retrieving and using visual data. 

Midjourney develops chatbot applications that use AI to generate images.

DeepL provides a machine translation service. 

Frame AI: Offers a platform for building and deploying AI models on embedded devices, such as smartphones and smart home appliances.

Uizard features a no-code AI platform that allows users to create AI applications without any programming experience.

Sherpa provides a virtual personal assistant.

BigPanda provides an AIOps capability that helps IT teams resolve IT outages and incidents more quickly and effectively.

CognitiveScale develops AI-powered customer service solutions for various industries, including healthcare, insurance, financial services, and digital commerce.