When visiting a trade show like the MWC, you are bound to see some companies try out-of-the-box ideas to gather attention and press coverage. That was the trend this year too with phone cameras that can latch on to DSLR lenses, or a triple folding flip phone. However, one device that went under the radar is Newnal’s AI phone, which creates a digital clone of you.
Newnal AI Knows Everything About You—And Acts on It
I know this doesn’t sound like a big deal, with AI being able to pull off all sorts of stuff. But the Newnal AI device takes as much information about you as possible. This includes your medical and financial records, from past and present, and trains on your data. This data is then securely broken and uploaded to cloud servers. So only you should be able to access it in theory.
But what does it do with all this data? Well, it creates a virtual AI assistant using your facial features and voice. It is dubbed your “Another-I“. This Another-I resides in its own tiny dedicated screen at the top of the Newnal phone. You can bring it up using the square button on the side. Like Gemini or Siri, it can perform typical AI stuff like drafting emails and such.
The point where it gets trippy is that it can also get car insurance for you. Yes, I am not making it up. Down to picking up the insurance, filling up your details, and even paying for it. It can complete the process without your intervention while showing each step, and showing each source for the information. I can’t get a grip on how I feel about this Newnal AI.
A Quick Background Lesson on Newnal
The founder of Newnal AI, YT Kim, previously developed a blockchain-powered vaccine verification system in Korea, which is still widely used. The company is based in Korea, and it has published extensive documentation and technical details to help you understand how it processes your data. The phone that performs all the AI trickery is a little device with a separate screen that runs a mix of Newnal’s OS and Android.
According to Kim, the company is hoping to launch the Newnal AI phone globally on May 1. It will go on sale for $375 which is frankly quite cheap. Almost about the same price as the recently announced Nothing Phone (3a).
If Newnal Can Do Everything for Me, What’s Left for Me to Do?
That being said, I still feel quite uneasy about an AI having so much authority to make purchases on my behalf. Plus, we know the technology is pretty well known for hallucinating. So what if it enters the wrong details, causing more damage than it aims to solve?
This is beside the fact that it has so many details on you. And having an AI avatar of you sitting at the top of the phone screen talking to you in your voice. You can’t fault me for being a little too skeptical here. Apart from this, it can also help you find the right pair of sunglasses based on your upcoming events and trip plans. It can even answer calls on your behalf, like Google’s call screening.
The biggest question of all this is, if it can do everything for me, then what am I supposed to do? These are the baffling questions I was left with when after taking a look at the Newnal AI phone at MWC. What do you think about this prototype smartphone? Let us know in the comments.
