AI Clock|

I didn’t expect my tweet about an AI clock to get a bunch of attention. But here we are! As far as I know, it’s a world first! So let’s see if we can make it.

Here’s a little (but live) sim of the AI Clock!

Read on to find out about the plan, how you can help and (if you’re a developer) how to integrate similar capabilities into your apps and devices.

– Matt, March 2023

p.s. Subscribe to the AI Clock newsletter for updates. News will always go there. For anything else my email address is in the footer.

The Plan

For the hardware, we’re pursuing two parallel tracks:

• Kits. For hackers, we’re putting together the parts list, instructions, and code for building your own AI Clock. This will be the quickest to get into your hands and will require some technical know-how. Maybe it will be a tutorial online, maybe a kit you can buy. Watch this space.
• Boxed product. A fully-assembled AI Clock, ready to plug and play. This will be the easiest to use, and prettiest, but will take longer to design, manufacture and ship. This is hard to do! (I’ve done connected hardware before.) So we’ll see. Current status: researching.

A challenge of the clock is that AI is costly. This prototype version would cost $1.80/day to run – for every clock! Not ok! So instead the kits and consumer product will use a shared cloud service, which will be free as it shares the cost between everyone, with an option to personalise the poems for a fee.

How you can help: There’s a lot involved in building connected gadgets, whether kits or boxed products. I’m looking for a partner who can handle (and float) manufacturing, international distribution, and retail relationships. Industrial design, DFM, certification and packaging would be a bonus.

Developer APIs

The shared cloud service is available to developers, here at Poem. It’s a simple REST API.

Which means that if you’re a developer and want to build your own physical clock, screen saver, iPhone widget, projected window display or whatever, today, the API is here for you. Get in touch for early access.

And if you’re working on a product (apps or devices) that could benefit from custom AI-powered live copy, get in touch. We can help.

Press

Thank you The Verge for featuring the AI Clock!

29 March 2023