It’s impossible to avoid dire warnings about the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), from the explosion of manipulated images, video, and audio leading to an exponential rise in misinformation, to job losses in writing fields such as the Hollywood writers’ strike, the recent Sport Illustrated AI-generated story kerfuffle, and increasing reports of AI authorship/plagiarism, all the way to dystopic “Terminator” forecasts of a machine-ruled world.
But despite all the AI fears and apocalyptic portents, many consumer technology industry experts see AI as a boon to enhance products and services and remain mostly bullish about the impact of the controversial technology in 2024.
“AI will be a major influence in our industry, 2024 and well into the future,” insists Bob Cole, CEO and founder of Philadelphia retailer World Wide Stereo. “It is the most significant shift we’ve seen in a long time, and there’ll be challenges as late adopters/clients learn to use it properly. There will be a lot of confusion regarding how it’s defined and how it’s used.”
AI is likely the first to be added as a premium feature to existing products, such as smart home devices. “It will be interesting to see how consumer tech companies harness generative AI in their devices and on their platforms to enhance the customer experience,” says Rick Kowalski, CTA’s senior director of business intelligence. “Watch for more collaborative tools, especially in content creation, and I would also expect more conversational digital assistant capabilities moving forward. We will also likely see manufacturers continue to improve their hardware to better handle AI workloads on their devices.”
Industry observers seem to believe that consumers are not as wary of AI, at least as far as product enhancement is concerned, as hyperbolic media suggests. “Generative AI could drive new use cases across many consumer electronic categories,” predicts Tom Mainelli, IDC’s group vice president for devices and consumer research. “Thanks to Chat GPT, many consumers have a basic understanding of what it is and what it can do.”
But Neal Manowitz, president and COO, Sony Electronics North America, appropriately agrees that AI poses both great power and great responsibility for consumer device makers and service providers. “We will see generative AI more integrated with digital imagery,” Manowitz says. “On the plus side, this technology allows creators to do more. When combined with images captured, they allow creators to be more creative. But, when facts matter, it also significantly increases the risk of content being manipulated and misinterpreted. Across the industry, we expect to see more technology to authenticate imagery geared toward validating the content’s origins.”
New AI Products, New AI Dangers
Like any disruptive technology, generative AI, especially when integrated into new next-generation chips, is more likely to trigger the development of “some compelling new products,” asserts IDC’s Mainelli. “AI is super compelling for commercial users, but the industry has yet to land on consumer-specific use cases, although the path forward there is likely tied to gaming and content creation. I expect to see devices of all shapes and sizes, and the services associated with them, leveraging generative AI to deliver increasingly personalized experiences.”
But considering all the negative news and publicity surrounding AI, just how AI is applied and promoted presents a potential minefield for consumer technology vendors.
“The rise of AI-driven technologies can pose a threat to the consumer electronics industry in various ways,” cautions Sudhakar Gudala, SVP and global head of Tata Consultancy Services’ CPG & Distribution Business Unit. “Potential misuse of AI-generated content leads to issues like misinformation and fake news. This leads to eroding customer trust and impacts the credibility of consumer electronics brands, especially those with media playback capability.” Gudala also counsels companies about the “potential for AI to create imitations of popular products or services leading to counterfeit concerns, impacting genuine manufacturers in the consumer electronics market.”
Acknowledging these potential – maybe even possible – AI threats, Kowalski says that CTA has been consistent in its support and advocacy for government regulation. “A federal privacy standard would bring consistency and transparency for both consumers and innovators,” Kowalski says. “CTA has proposed a National AI Policy Framework. The U.S. has an opportunity to lead the world on AI policy as well as AI innovation. This framework contributes to the evolving dialogue about appropriate guardrails for AI technology and supports a measured and balanced approach to rules.”
“It’s likely that generative AI will be one of the primary driving technologies in 2024,” IDC’s Mainelli adds, but “consumers have equal parts of excitement and fear around the future of AI.”
