The CEO of Honour, a Chinese smartphone maker, stated in an interview that user data protection is crucial before any artificial intelligence can truly revolutionise the world.

His remarks coincide with Apple’s announcement earlier this month that it will begin deploying customised AI features on certain devices in the United States coming autumn.

Some AI features are already included into Honour, such as the ability to access text messages and other alerts simply by glancing at them or the direct integration of Yelp-like applications with ride-hailing or navigation apps, which eliminates the need for copy-and-paste operations.

Honour announced new artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities this week at the Mobile World Congress in Shanghai. These tools may be used to identify the use of deepfakes in movies and can simulate lenses that help reduce myopia over extended periods of screen use.

Zhao underlined that Honor’s strategy is to confine AI activities involving personal information to smartphones. It is sometimes referred to as “on-device AI” and is distinct from AI technologies that rely on cloud computing for operation.

“AI will become useless without data security and user privacy protection,” Zhao predicted. This has consistently been one of our key selling points.

Zhao stated, “We claim that user data never leaves [the device].” “We follow this as a principle.”

The AI solution from the iPhone maker, Apple Intelligence, states that it processes queries on-device and employs “server-based models” for more complicated ones. As per Apple, user data is never stored by its new “Private Cloud Compute” system.

Honour claims that while it has built its own on-device AI, it is collaborating with Baidu and Google Cloud on further AI features.

“Overall, my view is that AI’s development to date has two directions,” Zhao said. “Network [cloud] AI has become more and more powerful. But I believe on-device AI, in its capabilities and empowerment of consumers, will become more and more intimate, more and more understanding.”

“It will give consumers more support and help them interact with the future AI world,” he added.

Zhao made the observation that a lot of generative AI apps, like ChatGPT from OpenAI, demand a lot of processing power that is far more than what a single smartphone can provide.

This implies that they must use the cloud, which begs the issue of data transmission security.

Manufacturers have a “huge challenge” in juggling AI capabilities with energy consumption and data protection, according to Zhao.

According to him, a system that gathers a lot of user data in order to provide more customised features becomes a “stronger” entity than the person utilising it.

“In the future development of smartphones, our goal is that the individual becomes stronger,” Zhao said.

“When an object becomes stronger, this will reveal the smallness of the individual in its presence. I believe mobile end devices need to empower and enable individuals.”

Honor’s Magic V2 folding phone, which debuted in Europe earlier this year and in China last summer, took home the “Best Smartphone in Asia Award” at this week’s Shanghai Mobile World Congress.

When folded, the Magic V2 is almost as thin as an iPhone.

With the most recent AI features from the firm, Honour plans to deliver the Magic V3 in July.

Zhao only responded, “Of course, we need to challenge ourselves,” in response to the question of whether the forthcoming foldable will be even smaller.

(Adapted from CNBC.com)