The Day the Humane Ai Pin Died, It Was Also Reborn. Or at Least, There Was Hope.
The Death of Ai Pin
On February 28, shortly after noon Pacific time, Humane switched off its servers supporting its contentious Ai Pin—essentially bricking a $700 device that was less than a year old. Minutes later, in a Discord voice chatroom with the label “The death of Ai Pin,” one member of a band of dedicated hackers, determined to keep their Pins alive, let the rest of the group in on a secret. He had the codes they needed to get through Humane’s encryption.
A Flop from the Start
Humane’s gadget is the poster child of AI-enhanced hardware disappointments. The cute, clippable device was meant to hang on a lapel or shirt pocket and let you carry out many of the functions you’d find in a phone—take pictures, display text messages, and order around an AI chatbot, all with some added pizazz in the form of Humane’s promised holographic laser displays.
A Short-Lived Device
Released to the world in April 2024, the Pin was an immediate disappointment. Its main features simply did not work well, and from there things just got worse. The Pin was a resounding flop, widely mocked, and the company even reached the point where it processed more returns of the device than it had sold. In February 2025, less than a year after the Pin was released, Humane announced it would shut down its services at the end of the month—Friday, February 28—and part off some of its key AI components to the computer company HP.
A Gut Punch
For the remaining fans of the expensive, short-lived device, the move was a gut punch. In the final week of the Humane Ai Pin’s short life, soon-to-be-former users ran through all of the stages of grief across Humane’s subreddits and Discord servers. There were furious rebukes. Heartbroken goodbyes. Disappointment all around.
A New Beginning
The official Humane Discord was shut down the morning of February 27. Luckily, 23 had already decided to start a separate Discord server for Humane refugees, called reHumane, in an effort to pursue unsanctioned forays into deconstructing the Pin away from the watchful eye of Humane or HP.
A New Era of Hacking
Marcel, another user who gave only his first name to avoid exposing himself to reprisal from HP, saw the end of Humane’s brief era as something exciting. He is used to tearing things like this apart. He has constructed his own PlayStation Portal out of a Nintendo Switch. He was one of the first people to transfer the Rabbit R1 source code onto an Android phone (much to the chagrin of a company that insisted its device was not simply an Android app).
Conclusion
The day the Humane Ai Pin died, it was also reborn. Or at least, there was hope. For the dedicated hackers and fans of the device, the end of Humane’s services marked a new beginning. A chance to take control of their own devices and to continue exploring the possibilities of AI-enhanced hardware.
FAQs
Q: What was the Humane Ai Pin?
A: The Humane Ai Pin was a device that was released in April 2024 and was meant to be a smart device that could perform various functions such as taking pictures, displaying text messages, and ordering around an AI chatbot.
Q: Why was the Humane Ai Pin a flop?
A: The Humane Ai Pin was a flop because its main features did not work well, and it was widely mocked and criticized.
Q: What happened to the Humane Ai Pin after it was shut down?
A: The Humane Ai Pin was shut down on February 28, 2025, and its services were part off to the computer company HP.
Q: What is reHumane?
A: reHumane is a separate Discord server created by 23, a user who wanted to continue exploring the possibilities of the Humane Ai Pin away from the watchful eye of Humane or HP.
