Samsung to debut artificial human Neon at CES 2020: reports

Samsung Electronics is expected to unveil another artificial intelligence platform, named “Neon,” at the Consumer Electronics Show next month, according to reports on Monday.

It was developed by Samsung Technology and Advanced Research Lab, based in the United States, under the leadership of the unit’s President Pranav Mistry, the youngest executive at Samsung. Neon is likely to be introduced as a new AI platform of Samsung.

A recent tweet on the unit’s official Twitter account said, “Neon = Artificial Human.” Artificial human is a new AI concept referring to hardware or software designed for companionship, including robots and digital pets. 

In response to speculation that Samsung might replace its current AI platform Bixby with Neon, the Samsung unit refuted this, saying, “Neon is not about Bixby, or anything you have seen before.”

“A newly emerging trend in AI is to make AI platforms resemble humans,” said an industry official. “Global tech giants including Samsung are racing to create something that can be called AI assistants that are like real humans, beyond the current device-based platforms.”

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