As of today, the Humane Ai Pin has been rendered obsolete—less than a year following its launch. After being acquired by HP, Humane discontinued numerous essential features of the AI-driven wearable and erased user data, making it practically inoperable. While some functions persist, like monitoring battery life (which is somewhat useful!), the voice assistant is no longer accessible.
If you invested $700 in the Ai Pin, you may be contemplating your options now. These are the hazards associated with being an early adopter, but not receiving a refund on a device that became defunct before the warranty period even ended feels quite unjust. Humane sold around 10,000 units, but at one point, daily returns exceeded sales, resulting in an even smaller number of Pins in existence. Nevertheless, that still amounts to thousands of virtually useless gadgets. This is just a minor blip in the global e-waste crisis, which is already at a critical level. Humane should have taken a more thoughtful approach regarding the Ai Pin’s failure.
Although obtaining a refund may not be feasible, if you purchased the pin in October 2024 (for whatever reason), you might fall within the standard 120-day chargeback period with your credit card. However, there are alternative options to consider. Let’s delve into them.
File a Complaint With the FTC
Discontinuing a product that consumers have paid for is “unfair and deceptive.” This perspective comes from Lucas Gutterman, who communicated with WIRED via email. He is the campaign director for the Designed to Last campaign at Public Interest Research Groups (PIRG).
“When we purchase something with advertised features, we should receive what we paid for; when we’re shortchanged, the law should defend our rights,” Gutterman states. “I strongly encourage anyone who bought a Humane AI Pin to file a complaint with the FTC, so they can step in and safeguard consumers.”
Photograph: Federal Trade Commission
Last year, a coalition of organizations, including US PIRG and Consumer Reports, sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission urging the agency to tackle “software tethering,” which is defined as using software to restrict the functionality of a device after purchase. The FTC subsequently launched a study aimed at assessing software support commitments for over 180 products, only to discover that “almost 89 percent of the manufacturers’ websites for these products failed to disclose the duration of software updates.”
Humane’s warranty specifies that the “software and software functionality” are exempt, which is a common practice for many connected devices. However, the study also pointed out that it’s misleading to advertise a device’s features and then fail to provide software updates that maintain those capabilities. This may violate the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act, a law established in 1975 to protect consumers from unfair warranty disclaimers.
“Without clear labeling regarding the duration of software support, or by removing key advertised features, manufacturers may be infringing upon the FTC Act by misleading consumers,” Gutterman asserts. “Paying for a $700 product that’s meant to function, only to be told it will abruptly cease to operate, constitutes a ‘harm consumers cannot avoid,’ a situation Humane could have humanely sidestepped before contributing to e-waste.”
