During a candid conversation in San Francisco during DevDay2025, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and LoveFrom founder Jony Ive offered their most detailed public look yet at the philosophy behind their ongoing collaboration — one that could lead to a new category of AI-driven devices.

Ive described leaving Apple after nearly three decades to form a cross-disciplinary creative studio that blends industrial, graphic, and interface design. The team’s expertise has since attracted former Apple designers, as previously reported by AiNews, deepening the collaboration between OpenAI and LoveFrom on early AI hardware prototypes.

For years, the group’s mission felt abstract — until ChatGPT’s 2022 debut made its purpose clear. “It felt like our purpose of the last six years became clear,” he said. That realization led him to reach out to Altman.

Altman recalled their early meetings as explorations of how people might interact with “this kind of technology” in ways that move beyond the limits of current computers and smartphones. “It feels like as great as phones and computers are, there’s something new to do,” he said.

You can watch the full conversation below.

Ive emphasized that his creative drive comes from a sense of moral responsibility. “Our motivation and our fuel is that we love our species and we want to be useful,” he said, noting that the team’s work is centered on care and empathy for people.

He described craft not as perfectionism but as an expression of care — especially in the details that users may never see. “You sense when people have cared,” Ive explained. “You also sense carelessness — a mile away.”

Altman praised this precision, noting how Ive’s team obsesses over “fractions of a millimeter” in design and the “subtlest differences in materials.”

Both leaders expressed concern about the current state of technology. Ive described today’s digital environment as one that often leaves people “overwhelmed and despairing.” Yet he sees AI not as an extension of that problem but as an opportunity to fix it.

“I see it as a chance to use this most remarkable capability to address a lot of the overwhelm and despair that people feel right now,” he said. Rather than creating another utilitarian tool, he hopes AI can enable experiences that are joyful, peaceful, and deeply human.

While the collaboration remains secretive, Ive acknowledged that the combined teams have already generated 15 to 20 compelling product ideas. The challenge, he said, is focus: “We’re designing a family of products … but we have to be judicious and thoughtful in what we focus on.” This expands on earlier reporting by AiNews, which detailed the pair’s early hardware design goals and their intention to develop a new category of AI-powered devices.

Altman agreed that the momentum of AI development is unlike anything he’s seen before. The pair’s comments confirm that multiple device concepts are in play — potentially signaling a move toward post-smartphone platforms built around conversational AI.

Addressing a room of builders, Ive offered advice for navigating such rapid technological change: “There’s something very equalizing about what’s going on because it’s new to all of us,” he said. Success, he suggested, depends on curiosity, humility, and a willingness to question past experience.

He added that even decades of design expertise must sometimes be set aside: “Where is my experience relevant — and where is it not? Because it can be an obstacle.”

Altman echoed the sentiment, noting that AI is transforming creative work as much as code. Ive said his team sometimes finds existing tools “irrelevant,” forcing them to build new ones themselves — an indication that new AI-native design workflows may be emerging inside LoveFrom.

When asked what he most hopes society gets right about AI, Ive didn’t cite efficiency or market disruption. Instead, he said simply:

“That these tools would make us happy and fulfilled and more peaceful and less anxious and less disconnected.”

For Ive, the next era of technology should focus on human flourishing, not constant optimization. He called it “absurd to assume breathtaking new technology could be delivered through legacy products,” suggesting the need for entirely new forms of personal devices designed around emotional resonance rather than screens and apps.

Q1: How did this collaboration begin?
A: Ive contacted Altman after ChatGPT’s launch, seeing AI as the key to LoveFrom’s creative purpose.

Q2: What’s the central philosophy behind their work?
A: Designing technology that serves humanity with care, empathy, and joy — rather than efficiency alone.

Q3: What makes this project different from past device design?
A: The focus is on emotional connection and the character of interaction, not just hardware or interface.

Q4: How far along is development?
A: Ive said the teams have generated 15–20 strong concepts and are narrowing focus across a family of products.

Q5: What outcome do they hope for?
A: To redefine the human–AI relationship and create tools that leave people feeling more peaceful and connected.

The conversation signaled that the OpenAI–LoveFrom partnership is not just about a single product — it’s about reshaping the role of technology itself. If their humanistic approach holds, the next wave of AI hardware may prioritize emotional resonance, simplicity, and delight over screens and multitasking.

As Ive put it, the ultimate goal is for people to look at these future devices and think, “Of course — why did it take so long?”

Why This Matters

This conversation isn’t just a meeting of two creative minds — it’s a preview of how AI, design, and human values may converge to shape the next chapter of personal technology.

As AI systems move from screens into the physical world, the choices made by OpenAI and LoveFrom will influence how billions of people live, work, and feel with intelligent devices woven into everyday life.

If Altman and Ive succeed in creating human-centered AI hardware, it could mark the first real step toward a more empathetic, joyful, and balanced relationship between people and machines.

Editor’s Note: This article was created by Alicia Shapiro, CMO of AiNews.com, with writing, image, and idea-generation support from ChatGPT, an AI assistant. However, the final perspective and editorial choices are solely Alicia Shapiro’s. Special thanks to ChatGPT for assistance with research and editorial support in crafting this article.