Silicon Valley giants like Amazon, Meta, and OpenAI are on a quest to create advanced operating systems for AI devices. By 2026, we might see these systems making a splash. Imagine AI agents taking care of tasks without you needing to open apps or websites. This could change how we interact with technology entirely.
In this future, devices could manage everything from travel bookings to lunch orders—all with just a voice command. If these AI assistants work as intended, they might find the best options for you quickly and affordably.
However, there are challenges. Right now, many AI agents aren’t very reliable. If users start relying on AI instead of apps, companies may find it hard to connect with their customers. For instance, Uber and DoorDash depend on keeping users engaged within their apps, where ads and promotions help build loyalty.
With AI assistants, customers may no longer need to return to the app to make purchases, cutting into those companies’ profits. Even if you pay the same amount for a delivery through an AI device, the company could miss chances to sell you additional services.
Anjney Midha, an investor at Sesame—a startup founded by former Oculus leaders—argues that companies need to maintain control over their products to succeed in an AI-driven world. Historically, successful operating systems have encouraged developers to build apps for their platforms. Yet this often comes with friction. Apple, for example, has taken significant cuts from developers, leading to frustration.
Not all tech companies are keen on letting smaller startups use their platforms for AI. Rabbit, a startup that launched the R1 device at CES 2024, faced this issue. CEO Jesse Lyu explained that larger app developers like Uber weren’t willing to share access to their services, forcing Rabbit to create workarounds instead.
The tension isn’t limited to devices. Perplexity, another startup, ran into trouble when Amazon sued it over an AI shopping tool. Amazon, which is also working on similar technology, demanded that Perplexity stop scraping its website, making it challenging for the startup’s tool to function fully.
Despite these hurdles, some companies, including DoorDash and Expedia, are willing to explore AI partnerships. They’re beginning to integrate their services within AI applications, showing a cautious optimism about new possibilities.
In a world where AI becomes a primary interface, companies will need innovative strategies to adapt. Focusing on user experience while leveraging AI capabilities is vital. With the right balance, the future could usher in an era where technology enhances our lives in remarkable ways.
For more on the implications of AI in tech, you can explore resources like Harvard Business Review and recent studies from Pew Research.
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model behavior,artificial intelligence,openai,google,meta,amazon,operating systems,apps,startups
