AI to dominate this year's CES, even without OpenAI's Altman on hand
By Max A. Cherney and Abhirup Roy
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -OpenAI boss Sam Altman will not appear at the CES trade show in Las Vegas next week. But the generative artificial-intelligence fever his startup set off last year will be on full display as gadget makers race to find consumer uses for the technology.
In devices for the visually impaired, and safety systems involving guns at schools, to facial-recognition software that can assess vitals, and cabin-monitoring systems inside autonomous cars, dozens of companies have planned announcements for the show about how they are building AI into their gadgets.
CES 2024, formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show, runs Jan. 9-12.
OpenAI's influence at the show despite Altman's physical absence is reminiscent of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and its founder Steve Jobs, whose clout was felt despite him avoiding the show, with many firms jockeying to display gadgets compatible with the company's sleek products.
Altman is widely regarded as the poster child for the AI frenzy that has gripped the tech industry for the past year. He made headlines in November when he was briefly ousted by the ChatGPT maker's board, and reinstated days later after more than 700 employees threatened to quit and join OpenAI investor Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) in solidarity.
Among other projects, OpenAI is working on a secretive AI hardware project with famed former Apple designer Jony Ive, according to media reports.
Funding for generative AI projects exploded last year, surging more than fivefold to $23.78 billion through the beginning of December from 2022, according to PitchBook data.
«It's the year of AI in everything,» said Maribel Lopez, tech analyst at Lopez Research. «If you don't have AI in your
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