Since ChatGPT launched, the hype about artificial intelligence (AI) has been dialled up to fever pitch. It’s been billed as one of the biggest paradigm shifts in human history and been called the new industrial revolution, with the potential to fundamentally change the way we live, work and play. So, given this huge technological transformation, you’d expect a flood of fab new AI-powered gadgets to come rushing to market, promising to make our lives even easier and more convenient than they already are.
Well, you might want to dampen down those expectations a bit for the moment – at least until the big tech companies have fully worked out how to apply AI innovation to everyday devices and boost their usefulness. We already have any number of smart and very smart gadgets for a range of uses – will AI add value or is it just more bells and whistles we don’t really need? Is the world crying out for an AI toothbrush that tells you the correct way to maintain oral hygiene?
Personally, I see nothing to fear from incorporating artificial intelligence into our everyday household items – although I notice my toaster has been taking flying lessons and formed a QAnon chat group with other toasters in my neighbourhood.
Let’s have a look through the AI gadgets currently coming on the market and see if they live up to the hype.
Looi desktop robot
€162 approx. looirobot.com
Look into Looi’s big, blue electronic eyes, like shimmering pixel pools, and all resistance to AI will melt away. Looi is an impossibly cute pet robot that works in a fiendishly simple way, by turning your smartphone into a very smart little desktop companion. You download the Looi app and then attach your phone to the magnetic charging dock, and Looi comes to life.
It has caterpillar tracks that allow it to move around on your desktop, and sensors to detect obstacles and cliff edges, so you won’t find it lying on the office floor – unless the cat has taken a dislike to it. As if.
Looi has a mind of its own, powered by ChatGPT-4, and can interact with you in several ways. It has touch sensors so you can give it a tickle, and an endless array of expressions and emotions, each one more heart melting than the next, and of course it can “see” you and chat with you, learning all about your likes, pet hates and foibles as it goes along. And don’t worry, Looi won’t share your personal data with anyone else, as it aligns with the privacy policies of App Store and Google Play, and stores all the data, images and videos it captures locally on your device.
You can also play games with Looi, and it can help you with a range of tasks during your working day. And it can pretty much answer any question you throw at it – in a cute cartoon voice. Looi works best with an iPhone 12 or later model, with iOS 17 or above, and with an Android 12 or above. If your smartphone doesn’t have MagSafe, Looi comes with a docking ring to allow you to attach your phone safely and securely.
Roborock Saros Z70 robot vacuum cleaner
Due out soon, price tbc. global.roborock.com
You know how hard it is to programme a teenager to pick up after them at home. Let’s say the technology to turn your teen into a paragon of tidiness is still many years away. And since you can’t leave those dirty socks on the floor for the rest of the century and beyond, it’s clear that other ways will have to be found to transfer that adolescent-generated biohazard waste from floor to laundry basket.
Now, thanks to AI – and a special grabbing arm – your robot vacuum cleaner can do the job, saving you the long, philosophical argument with your teenager on why tidying up is such a bourgeois concept. The Roborock Saros Z70 not only hoovers up all the dust and debris from your carpets, it also can pick up random objects from the floor using its OmniGrip foldable five-axis mechanical arm.
So, the Z70 will pootle around the room like any ordinary robot vacuum, until it detects a shoe, sock or other piece of discarded clothing in the way. That’s when a little door opens and out comes the OmniGrip to efficiently scoop up the offending garment and place it in a designated receptacle. Unfortunately, you’ll need a full-sized robot to lift the receptacle and carry it to the laundry room. Or a spouse.
The Z70 uses AI to help it recognise more than 100 different objects, and it has the capacity to define 50 additional objects, so it’ll know whether it’s picking up a baby’s soother or a Lego minifig. And though the mechanical arm looks a bit creepy and sci-fi, like it’s about to implant a nanobot in your brain, it features a gentle-grip design that ensures it can hold objects securely without breaking them.
Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarer sunglasses
€329 arnotts.ie
If you’re out and about and you hear someone shout “Hey Meta!” seemingly into empty space, don’t be alarmed. They’re just talking to their Ray-Bans. The new Meta Wayfarer sunglasses are designed to be your AI assistant on the go – your eyes and ears on the wider world as you go about your business.
The Meta Wayfarers have all the style of these iconic shades, combined with the latest in AI, audio and video technology. So, you’ll look good while staying well ahead of the tech curve. With Meta AI, you can use voice commands to get info you need on the go, or to help make your daily tasks run more smoothly. You can also make notes and store important information for reviewing later. Its ultra-wide 12MP camera and five-mic system enables you to create hi-res photos and videos to post on social media, so all your friends can share in your “very interesting day”.
You can also listen to your favourite music on the go and manage your calls and messages using voice commands or the Wayfarer’s hyper-responsive touchpad and capture button. The Meta Wayfarer has four hours of battery life on a single charge, and the slim, portable charging case has enough juice for eight more charges. You’ll need to have your phone on you, with the Meta View app installed, and also have a Facebook account, and then you’re ready to take on the world.
Oral-B iO series 6 ai-powered toothbrush
€229 boots.ie
Are you ready for a conversation with your toothbrush? Okay, the range of topics under discussion will be fairly limited, mainly revolving around oral hygiene, but you can be sure that – thanks to AI – your toothbrush will be very knowledgeable on the subject. Usually, your toothbrush talking to you is a sign you’ve lost your mind, but there are AI-powered electric toothbrushes that will actually talk to you while you’re brushing, telling you the right way to brush, and letting you know if you’re going too hard, too soft, or missing a molar there at the back.
The Oral-B iO 6 doesn’t actually talk to you while you brush but it does communicate via an interactive display to guide you through the brushing process, greeting you cheerfully and giving you an encouraging smile when you’ve finished. AI allows it to learn your particular style of brushing, while its enhanced smart pressure sensor enables it to steer you to just the right level of pressure. And you can personalise your brushing routine via five smart modes: daily clean, sensitive, gum care, intense clean and whitening.
But, I hear you ask, what’s wrong with good, old-fashioned analogue toothbrushes and traditional brushing routines? Nothing, I suppose, but just remember: our cave-dwelling ancestors used to chew sticks to clean their teeth and flossed with plant fibres. Would you go back to that method? Thought not. Don’t be stuck in the stone age – get the new Oral-B iO electric toothbrush and the AI ring of confidence.
Birdfy Feeder 1 AI-powered bird feeder with camera
€169 birdfy.com
We assume that only the owners of ChatGPT and DeepSeek will feel the benefits while the rest of us end up jobless and friendless, with only an AI companion to talk to. But there’s one sector who should be rejoicing at the rise of AI, and that’s our bird-watching community. If you like having birds in your back garden and you want to be able to identify all the different species that fly in and out, then you’ll want to get the new Birdfy AI-powered bird feeder right away.
Basically, it’s a bird feeder with a camera installed, and when it detects a bird landing for its dinner it will alert you via the Birdfy app on your phone. And its AI will consult a vast array of ornithological data on the web and identify each species that lands. Not only that, the Birdfy will tell you which species is the most frequent visitor to the feeder and let you know if a rare bird species has landed. Its high-res camera also has colour night vision, so you can capture superb photos and footage of owls and other night birds too. The app allows you to share your favourite avian moments with more than 20 other accounts, and you can post updates to other twitchers on social media.
The Birdfy Feeder 1 has a long-lasting built-in battery and is weather resistant, but you can also buy a separate solar panel so you can have uninterrupted bird action all year round. Who said AI was for the birds? It is now.
