AI-Washing in Tech: Real Intelligence or Just Hype?

At IGF, we’re constantly trying to find more interesting startups and interesting ideas to make the world a better place. Moreover, we’re interested not only in ideas, but in the language used for them. What attracts our attention now is AI-washing. What’s that and what’s special about it? Check out our article today! One trend we see gaining traction (and raising eyebrows) is AI-washing—when products are branded as “AI-powered” but deliver little beyond automation.

So, what stands behind AI-washing? Actually, it’s nothing more than an AI-powered product with a bit more than automation. It all started with a washing machine. So, what does an AI-enhanced washing machine mean? It detects the load weights and washing settings for the weight. Can we state that it’s intelligent? No, not really. It only has some sensors that identify some points while washing. But in reality, it’s not really about intelligence, and moreover, about AI.

And this is where the conversation begins. Just as we saw greenwashing in sustainability, AI-washing is now infiltrating tech and consumer products. However, the word ‘AI’ nowadays is used more for trends, rather than for the real meaning. But today, we’re going to dive deeper into AI-washing and its real meaning.

Let’s take a look at a few recent examples:

Samsung AI Washing Machines

Samsung has released some washing machines as ‘AI-enhanced’. It has features that help it set the correct washing setting. Settings are based on users’ habits and load type. In reality, these washing machines just use pre-programmed settings. They don’t have AI features, in fact, as they are not learning over time. They use refined algorithms.

Builder.ai: The Billion-Dollar Illusion

This startup was supposed to be a no-code platform for building custom apps. It also raised a €440M in investment. But what turned out was that in reality, there was a heavy workload for human developers. As a result, the platform was limited in UI and did not work as it was supposed to.

Logitech AI Edition M750 Mouse

Logitech launched this product as an “AI edition” of an existing mouse. The only new feature? A preprogrammed button that opens a ChatGPT prompt. There’s no new hardware or onboard intelligence. It’s just a shortcut to an external tool – useful, maybe, but not artificial intelligence.

Oral-B iO Series Toothbrush

This toothbrush is about to be AI-powered, but is it really? In fact, it can give you feedback on your movement. It detects movements, but based on a fixed pattern. So, is it really AI-powered? No, but useful in a way.

LG DUALCOOL AI Air Conditioner

The last device on our chart is an AI Air conditioner, which uses motion sensors and pre-set patterns to adjust temperature with the help of AI. The idea of it was to personalize cooling. In fact, it can ‘understand’ that the human is in the room, but it doesn’t learn or predict it, which is the core element of AI.

Why It Matters

At IGF, we support investors and startups by connecting them. So, for us, the latest technologies mean a step forward. Although AI is still something that needs to be learned more deeply, the technologies that exist are already on their way to using AI. We believe that building trust starts with telling the right story, and that includes calling things what they really are. Contact us to bring your brilliant ideas to life with us!