Samsung To Launch ‘Artificial Human’ Called Neon

Samsung disclosed that it will introduce an “artificial human” called Neon at CES 2020 on Jan. 7 that is totally different than its artificial intelligence (AI) assistant Bixby, Digital Trends reported.

The limited information about Neon was shared on Samsung’s Twitter account, and includes an “Artificial Human” teaser in several languages with the tagline “Have you met an ‘artificial’?”

Samsung’s social media posts indicate that Neon is an “artificial intelligence being” and “best friend.” 

“Honored to have so much coverage even before we unveil. But contrary to some news, NEON is NOT about Bixby or anything you have seen before,” Samsung tweeted. 

Neon is being developed under Samsung Technology & Advanced Research Labs (STAR Labs) and led by president and CEO Pranav Mistry, a veteran of Samsung Galaxy Gea.

Mistry tweeted, “For the past few years, I have been working on something exciting. FOLLOW @neondotlife to learn more. Please SHARE and ask your friends to join, too.” 

Bixby differs from Google Home and Amazon Alexa in that the software is distributed across several apps, including Bixby Home, Bixby Vision, and Bixby Voice. Smartphone users have been on the fence about Bixby, however.

How Neon differs from Bixby is under wraps until the CES 2020 in Las Vegas.

Mistry retweeted film director and creative guru Shekhar Kapur’s tweet that said NEON is “Artificial Intelligence that will make you wonder which one of you is real.”

In July, Samsung introduced a marketplace for Bixby, despite its relatively unknown name when stacked against the likes of Alexa, Siri and Cortana. 

The Bixby marketplace will be available in the U.S. and South Korea, and customers can download several different services to customize Bixby.

Bixby apps are being called capsules by the company and they include Spotify, iHeartRadio, NPR, Yelp and Google Maps. Also in the marketplace are things like staff picks, reviews and different categories based on the capsule someone would want.