George Zhao, CEO of Chinese smartphone company Honor, emphasized the importance of protecting user data when leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), in an exclusive interview with CNBC. He highlighted that without data security and user privacy, AI’s transformative power is meaningless. His remarks follow Apple’s announcement of new personalized AI tools for U.S. devices this fall.
Honor’s AI features include functions that allow users to open text messages and notifications through facial recognition and eliminate copy-pasting by linking apps directly to navigation or ride-hailing services. At the Mobile World Congress in Shanghai, Honor introduced AI tools for detecting deepfakes in videos and simulating lenses to reduce myopia from prolonged screen usage.
Zhao stressed that Honor’s AI operations are limited to the smartphone, a practice known as on-device AI, contrasting with AI tools that rely on cloud computing. “Without data security and user privacy protection, AI will become worthless,” Zhao said in Mandarin, translated by CNBC. “This has always been one of our value propositions.” He emphasized that user data does not leave the device, a principle Honor strictly follows.
Zhao believes AI development is moving in two directions: network (cloud) AI and on-device AI, with the latter becoming increasingly powerful and supportive for consumers. He acknowledged the challenge of balancing AI capabilities with energy usage and data privacy, especially since generative AI applications like OpenAI’s ChatGPT require significant computing power beyond a single smartphone’s capacity, necessitating cloud usage and raising data security concerns.
Zhao also expressed that a system collecting extensive user data for personalized features could overshadow individual users. He believes smartphones should empower individuals, making them stronger rather than being dominated by powerful systems. Honor’s Magic V2 folding phone, which launched in China and Europe, received the “Best Smartphone in Asia Award” at the Shanghai MWC. The upcoming Magic V3, set for release in July, will feature the latest AI functions, with Zhao hinting at a thinner design, saying, “Of course, we need to challenge ourselves, right?”
