More People Are Returning That Horrid "AI Pin" Than Are Buying It

Ouch.

Humane Waste

By all accounts, the launch of tech startup Humane's AI Pin was an absolute disaster.

The $699 gadget, designed to capitalize on AI hype by acting as a personal assistant you can magnetically attach to your lapel, turned out to be a complete flop. Tech YouTuber Marques "MKBHD" Brownlee called it the "worst product" he had ever reviewed. Other reviewers found that it simply wasn't able to do much of anything, with Humane vastly exaggerating the tiny device's capabilities. Oh, and did we mention that its battery life was laughable?

In case you're wondering, things are still looking terrible for the venture. In fact, according to internal data obtained by the Verge, far more customers returned their AI Pins than those who bought it between May and August — a damning indictment that will likely have would-be competitors think twice before releasing a similar product.

Pin of the Past

The numbers paint a worrying picture of Humane's financial future. Between May and August, only around 8,000 units hadn't been returned yet. Since then, the number of AI Pins still in customers' possession has fallen closer to a dismal 7,000.

Last Week, the Information also revealed that the startup is negotiating with its investors to raise debt, with the goal of later turning it into equity. In June, the New York Times reported that computer and printer company HP was in acquisition talks with Humane.

Humane has brought in just over $9 million in lifetime sales, according to the Verge. That's despite raising over $200 million from major Silicon Valley juggernauts including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

Meanwhile, the company has had several key executives leave over the last couple of months, including its director of customer experience and vice president of engineering.

Humane maintains that the AI Pin was its first shot at an AI-enabled smart assistant, with spokesperson Zoz Cuccias telling the Verge that "we continue to build an incredibly talented and deeply experienced team" and are "committed to unlocking a new era of ambient and contextual computing."

But even if Humane were to solve glaring issues on the hardware side — abysmal battery life, slow processing, overheating, and a lackluster projector that displays information on the wearer's palm, to name a few — questions remain about whether AI chatbots, with their relentless "hallucinations," will ever provide the kind of functionality that Humane envisions.

More on the gadget: Maker of Disastrous "AI Pin" Device Admits It Can Cause Fire While Charging