The Rabbit R1 chronicles.

Chapter 5: That’s where the old folks play.

I’m noticing a small trend among people who have pre-ordered Rabbit R1: The elderly are buying them. What? People who shun technology anxious to get a Rabbit? Well, as an oldster myself I can see why. Our phones are always with us, but not really easy-to-use for those born in the pre-internet and even pre-PC days.

The Rabbit R1 chronicles.

Chapter 4: Don’t speculate a miracle and then expect it.

Hype is horrible thing. It sets up expectations that have never been stated. And Rabbit has had a lot of unplanned hype. If you want to know what Rabbit R1 will really be capable of on day one watch the keynote.

But many people pre-ordered their Rabbit based on the expectation that it will make phone calls and send texts. Sorry to disappoint, but at least initially, it won’t. Yeah, it has microphones, a speaker, bluetooth, a camera and an on-screen keyboard, but phone calls, video calls and texts were never the purpose of Rabbit. Founder Jesse Lyu made it clear in the keynote that Rabbit is not a phone replacement. The mission statement says Rabbit’s goal is to create the simplest computer possible. But here’s where the hype comes in: Ask Google if Rabbit can make calls and it’ll refer you to a CNET article that says yes it can. The hype led to the hope that Rabbit was a $200 replacement for your smartphone. And of course that’s obviously way too good to be true.

The Rabbit R1 chronicles.

Chapter 3: Virtual assistance, the next generation.

Though Rabbit R1 can connect with multiple LLMs and spit out the answers to your question, its superpower is that it can do actions through its LAM. As you read this, humans are training Rabbit’s Large Action Model on many major services that have a web portal. In conjunction with a garden-variety browser, Rabbit can also follow you in doing a task on the web and then do it for you the next time. (Though it’s likely Teach mode will not be ready at launch.) At this stage of Rabbit’s development we’re dealing with simple, but very useful tasks, like “Deliver my favorite pizza”. But when company founder Jesse Lyu held Rabbit’s camera up to the fridge and told Rabbit to give him a recipe based on what he had in there, it’s easy to see that the LAM will be an aid to problem solving based on our individual needs.

The Rabbit R1 chronicles.

Chapter 2: Cheating, stinking, lying LLMs.

Before we talk about the innovative LAM on Rabbit R1, we need to understand where AI stands today and how Rabbit fits into that.

The Rabbit R1 chronicles.

Chapter 1: Couldn’t it have just been an app?

Though I’m sometimes an early adopter, I shunned AI. But Jesse Lyu did a keynote on Rabbit R1 and I bought one before he stopped talking. Because it’s cute? Or useful? Actually, I got in because the Rabbit and its Large Action Model are a gravitational shift. Rabbit went down a hole that the industry didn’t realize was there and has AI and smartphone companies panicking right now and rapidly reacting to adopt a similar model.