[Exclusive] Neon, Bixby to complement each other: Samsung exec

LAS VEGAS -- Samsung Electronics’ humanoid artificial intelligence chatbot Neon and its current platform Bixby will complement each other, said Chung Eui-suk, head of the mobile division’s software R&D on Tuesday in Las Vegas. 

Chung told The Korea Herald that unlike Bixby which is embedded as a software in devices, Neon makes virtual humans that act like real people.

“The Neon platform will be complementary with Bixby, but goes beyond what Bixby does,” said the executive vice president who is attending the Consumer Electronics Show.

“Neon and Bixby will be platforms in two different areas of AI. Neon could come in a shape that looks like human and will be visible and tangible,” he added.

Neon was developed by Samsung Technology and Advanced Research Lab, based in the US, under the leadership of the unit’s President Pranav Mistry, the youngest executive at Samsung.

According to Chung, the Samsung Lab is in charge of presenting Neon during the annual tech event. It has set up a separate section for Neon at CES 2020.

There had been speculations that Samsung might replace its current AI platform Bixby with Neon. But the Samsung unit has refuted this, saying, “Neon is not about Bixby, or anything you have seen before.” 

By Song Su-hyun (song@heraldcorp.com)
Korea Herald correspondent