This article is archived. For updated research and insights, please visit our new site Small Island Research Notes on Tech and Future.
Why AI Devices Are a Habit Revolution, Not Hardware
Generative AI is spreading quickly, yet few people actually use it on a daily basis. The issue is not about what AI can do, but about the habits that have yet to form. OpenAI’s collaboration with designer Jony Ive on a screenless AI device is not just about launching new hardware. It is an attempt to reshape how we live with AI, transforming it from a tool we turn on to something quietly present in our everyday routines.
The true shift is not in technical specifications or product form, but in how AI becomes a natural part of life, something we use without needing to think about it.
In this quiet but critical competition, the defining question is simple: who gets to shape the way we interact with AI? The answer may determine who leads the next generation of technology platforms.
When Jony Ive joined forces with OpenAI to create a screenless AI device, much of the attention naturally focused on what the product might look like. Would it resemble an iPod Shuffle? Could it redefine what an AI device is supposed to be? But the real question was never about its appearance. What truly matters is the problem it is trying to solve: how to move AI from a functional tool into something that becomes part of our everyday rhythm.
This is not just a hardware innovation. It is an attempt to reshape the relationship between humans and technology.
1. Why Generative AI Feels Ubiquitous but Isn’t Yet a Daily Habit
As Benedict Evans observes , generative AI tools like ChatGPT have reached over 30 percent penetration in less than two years, a pace rarely seen in the history of technology. Yet one key data point reveals a striking disconnect. Only 5 to 15 percent of users engage with these tools daily.
In other words, we are witnessing the rise of a breakthrough technology that has not yet found a place in most people’s daily routines. It is something many know how to use but rarely think to use.
This is not a technical failure, nor a matter of missing features. It is a gap in habit.
2. OpenAI’s Strategy: Making AI Feel Natural Instead of Just Smarter
OpenAI clearly recognizes this challenge. Its collaboration with Jony Ive is not about showcasing algorithms. It is about changing when and how people engage with AI.
The device they are developing is said to be screenless, lightweight, and wearable. It includes voice interaction and environmental awareness. Its ambition is not to make AI more impressive, but to make it less intrusive. There is no need to open an app, type a prompt, or consciously remind yourself to use AI.
Instead, AI begins to take the form of ambient technology, quietly present, always nearby, and available when you need it.
At the heart of this shift is a simple idea. AI no longer waits for you to find it. It lives alongside you.
3. Why Habit, Not Features, Will Decide the Future of AI Platforms
History shows that with every new generation of platforms, the real contest is not about features. It is about retraining habits.
- We learned to scroll because the iPhone taught us.
- We learned to search because Google made it second nature.
- We learned to upload our lives because Instagram turned it into muscle memory.
Now, OpenAI is trying to do something similar. It wants asking AI to become an unconscious reflex, something people do without thinking about it.
This is the real strategic goal. It is not about outperforming other AI models. It is about becoming the default entry point for everyday use.
4. Designing Post-Screen AI Interfaces Around Meaning and Presence
The screenless design of this device is not a rejection of technology. It reflects a belief in what comes after the screen.
AI no longer needs a display to show you what it knows. It can listen, understand, and respond. It can work quietly in the background, even when you are not paying attention.
This introduces a different logic for how we interact:
- From swiping and tapping to speaking and sensing
- From visual cues to semantic understanding
- From choosing from menus to having your intent anticipated
The screen era was built around choice. The AI era is shaping itself around understanding and presence.
Conclusion: The Shift Toward Ambient AI and Unconscious Use
OpenAI’s device is not a hardware revolution. It is a first move in the design of everyday habits. The goal is not to impress you. The goal is for you to forget you are even using it.
This is not a race to build the fastest algorithm or the most advanced chip. It is a race to define the behavior people repeat every day with AI.
OpenAI is not challenging the market with specs. It is shaping the future through habit. The real question is simple. Do you reach for your phone, or do you speak to your AI? Do you scroll Instagram, or do you ask for what you need?
When AI begins to live within the details of our lives, from our sounds and gestures to our routines and even our pauses, the competition among platforms will no longer be about apps and devices.It will be about who quietly takes root in our unconscious habits.
This revolution is not in our hands. It is in our every day.
This article is part of our Cultural Signals and Emerging Trends series.
It explores how subtle shifts in culture, behavior, and values, especially around work, identity, and technology, may quietly reshape the future.
These reflections aim to capture early signals, not as predictions, but as prompts for deeper understanding.