The generative AI explosion of recent years has not slowed down in 2024. There has been a slew of new products employing large language models and an almost daily explosion of some new feature or tool for existing services.
ChatGPT is more powerful and has a new voice mode on the way, Google Gemini is popping up everywhere from Gmail to Google Drive, and even Apple has finally jumped into the AI (or Apple Intelligence) arena.
Then there are startups, from Suno to Rabbit, that are finding innovative ways to play with AI models, both their own and those built by market mainstays, with many more anticipated for the rest of the year.
As we're exactly halfway through 2024, we've selected some of the most impressive, notable, and arguably infamous AI releases of the year that you can play with today. Below, we've also selected a couple more AI innovations that haven't been released yet, but should be available before the end of the year…
AI in 2024: what launches have been the most important so far this year?
ChatGPT has been the default term for the wave of generative AI products that use large language models. However, OpenAI hasn't relied on that to stay ahead of the competition and has been regularly ramping up the AI chatbot and its linked services this year.
In 2024, ChatGPT added a memory feature that allows you to adjust your behavior based on previous interactions, as well as a read-aloud feature to convert those responses into an audio interpretation in 37 languages and five voices. Customization is also key in the GPT store, launched in January, where users can create and play with customized versions of ChatGPT focused on specific tasks.
In less good news, OpenAI had a public dispute with Scarlett Johansson over the similarity of her voice in “Sky” to that of the actress in the film. Hisand has since had to delay the planned voice mode update until sometime in the “fall.” ChatGPT also experienced a couple of major outages in June.
At the beginning of the year, Google Gemini only referred to the family of models built by Google. It wasn't until February that Google dropped the Bard brand it had used and made all of its generative AI projects fall under the Gemini umbrella.
Some of those new and improved features seem destined to trickle down to ChatGPT, with image generation tools (briefly removed after some weird hallucination issues) and the Gems store offering custom chatbots in the style of the GPT store.
Otherwise, you'll likely see Gemini in all the other Google products you've used in recent months, helping you write emails, annotate photos, and acting as an assistant on Android phones.
The Rabbit R1 took CES 2024 by storm in January, when it debuted as a $200 pocket-sized generative AI device. The company earned praise for showing off what it could do with a miniature touchscreen, a 360-degree camera, and an assistant powered by Perplexity AI’s large language models for real-time answers. The lack of a monthly subscription fee made it seem more accessible, and sales were overwhelming.
However, the realities of the Rabbit R1 — including inconsistent battery life, sometimes sluggish performance, a still-limited feature set and other flaws — could make it a cautionary tale for future hardware, though it's still an important one and arguably worth a purchase for the right user.
Like the Rabbit R1, the Humane AI Pin is a wearable device that attracted a lot of attention at CES 2024. The always-on, AI-powered generative assistant attaches to clothing and promises to provide real-time feedback via commands and record and analyze your interactions and meetings throughout the day.
As it seems obvious, there were many immediate concerns about privacy due to its constant listening capabilities, not to mention reliability issues with voice recognition in noisy environments. Despite these drawbacks, it also sold out quickly, but Humane is now reportedly looking for a buyer.
One of the biggest AI stories of the year may end up being AI music generators like Suno and Udio. Not only because they both have an impressive ability to create a decent tune (with lyrics, vocals, and instrumentation) from a simple text message, but because the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has sued both for copyright infringement.
This lawsuit could have major ramifications for both AI music generators and generative AI as a whole. A storm has been brewing between copyright holders and startups training new AI tools with vast amounts of data, and it will be fascinating to see where this legal battle goes. It may speed up the creation of a regulatory framework and accompanying laws to support it, but until then Suno and Udio can keep making AI-generated tunes — for now.
AI in 2024: What launches can we expect during the rest of the year?
Apple Intelligence is undoubtedly the most anticipated set of AI features for the rest of the year. Apple's WWDC 2024 event revealed that this “personal intelligence” system is coming to iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia. By combining Apple's own models with ChatGPT and other AI platforms at times (with your approval), Apple Intelligence will act to empower Siri as an assistant, with better guidance and understanding of context.
This is combined with on-screen awareness, allowing you to perform actions related to the information on the screen, such as adding a Messages address to a contact card and hundreds of other actions. The same AI will help you write emails and messages, summarize audio files, and create and edit images with the Image Playground feature. You'll even be able to create your own original emojis with the Genmoji feature.
To use it when it launches later in 2024 in the United States, you'll need an M-series iPad or Mac, or an iPhone 15 Pro or 15 Pro Max or newer, which means you may need to upgrade.
Amazon has been busy in the enterprise sector of generative AI, but Alexa, long synonymous with AI voice assistants, has only seen minor AI improvements associated with ChatGPT and others. That may change this year, but it could cost more.
There's a rumor that something called 'Notable Alexa' is coming this year. It could incorporate generative AI features, handle multiple tasks with a single command, and even order food delivery.
The perspective
Generative AI is a rapidly developing space, especially when it comes to consumer-facing products. A more mature commercial ecosystem may be in place next year, but for now, the race is on to new features for the biggest brands, while others explore new ways to use the available models. That means software subscriptions and questionable hardware, at least for now.
