The Next Input — Issue #110

CES 2026: AI Is Leaving the Chat Window

Aaron Bost
January 06, 2026

In partnership with

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⚡ The Briefing — 60 sec

CES 2026: NVIDIA goes big on AI autonomy and robotics
Two words you’ll hear everywhere this year: Vera Rubin. NVIDIA isn’t hinting anymore—they’re pushing straight into autonomy.
Google previews new Gemini features for TV at CES 2026
Huge win for me and my TCL 😅. The living room is officially an AI surface now.
AMD expands its AI and gaming portfolio at CES 2026
AMD quietly doing what it does best: closing gaps while everyone else argues about hype.

🛠️ The Playbook — The Ambient AI Surface Strategy

Mission Design AI experiences that live around users—TVs, dashboards, devices—without demanding attention.
Difficulty Medium
Build time 2–3 hours
ROI Higher engagement with lower annoyance. AI that fits into life instead of interrupting it.

0) Why This Matters

CES made it obvious: AI isn’t just apps anymore.
It’s screens you glance at, systems that listen passively, and devices that act without ceremony.

If you treat every new surface like a chat app, you lose.
This strategy shows how to build ambient AI—present, useful, and mostly quiet.

1) Architecture

Component	Tool	Purpose
Signal Intake	Device telemetry	Capture passive context
Intent Filter	GPT-5-mini	Decide if action is warranted
Action Engine	Claude 4.5 Sonnet	Generate minimal responses
Display Layer	TV / Dashboard UI	Surface suggestions inline
Feedback Loop	Event logging	Learn from ignores vs accepts

2) Workflow

Device captures context (what’s playing, time of day, recent actions).
GPT-5-mini evaluates intent probability.
If confidence is high, Claude 4.5 Sonnet generates a short, situational action.
UI surfaces it subtly—overlay, suggestion row, quick prompt.
User accepts, dismisses, or ignores.
System weights future behaviour based on response.

3) Example Prompts

Intent Check (GPT-5-mini)

Given this passive context, decide whether to act.
If confidence < 0.65, return NO_ACTION.
Return decision + confidence.

Ambient Suggestion (Claude 4.5 Sonnet)

Create a one-line suggestion suitable for a TV or dashboard.
No explanations.
No follow-up questions unless essential.

4) Guardrails

Never interrupt active viewing or gameplay.
Cap suggestions to one per session.
Treat ignored prompts as negative feedback.
Always provide an obvious dismiss option.

5) Pilot Rollout — 2 hours

Choose one ambient surface (TV, car screen, wall display).
Identify 3 high-signal moments.
Implement intent filtering.
Ship one suggestion type only.
Measure ignore vs accept rates.
Expand cautiously.

6) Metrics

Suggestion acceptance rate
Ignore-to-accept ratio
Time-on-surface impact
Repeat interaction frequency
User-reported annoyance score

Pro Tip: Ambient AI should feel like good lighting—you only notice it when it’s wrong.

🎯 The Arsenal — Tools & Platforms

Android TV APIs · Build Gemini-powered TV experiences · https://developer.android.com/tv
NVIDIA Omniverse · Simulate autonomy and robotics workflows · https://www.nvidia.com/omniverse
AMD ROCm · Optimise AI workloads across consumer hardware · https://rocmdocs.amd.com
Amplitude · Measure passive vs active engagement signals · https://amplitude.com

Copy-paste prompt block:

You are an ambient AI.
Act sparingly.
If unsure, stay silent.
Enhance context without stealing focus.

💡 Free Office Hours

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