‘Multimodal AI to free users from hassle of typing’

Samsung Electronics Executive Vice President of Language AI Team Park Ji-sun speaks during a press briefing in New York, Wednesday (local time). Courtesy of Samsung Electronics

NEW YORK — The progress of multimodal artificial intelligence (AI) will free users from the hassle of typing on screen, as dialogue with the AI becomes the most efficient input tool for Galaxy smartphone users, a leading expert from Samsung’s language AI team said Wednesday (local time).

During a press briefing, Samsung Electronics Executive Vice President of Language AI Team Park Ji-sun showcased the multimodal AI functions of the new Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 smartphones, unveiled at the company’s unpack event in Brooklyn.

"AI with multimodal capabilities and the ability to understand user intent will be the new standard for user experience,” Park said. “Rather than typing everything, users will share what is in front of them in real time with cameras and talk with the AI as if they are talking to a friend.”

After equipping the Galaxy S25 smartphone with natural language understanding capabilities in January, Samsung in April updated its AI to allows users to ask questions and receive real-time answers by simply showing their surroundings or objects through the camera, instead of typing or speaking.

The new Galaxy Z Fold 7 is displayed during a Samsung preview event in New York, Monday. AP-Yonhap

“The new Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 combine hardware innovations with powerful multimodal AI to deliver a more immersive and complete AI experience for users,” Park said.

During the unpack event, Samsung demonstrated how users can receive outfit recommendations by showing different clothing options and describing the occasion to the AI. By sharing their screen or camera, the AI is able to understand what is being shown and provide real-time suggestions accordingly.

“As the speech-to-text technology has advanced significantly, voice input will likely become more widely used. I believe voice will be actively used as an input tool just as text in the near future,” he said.

Park envisions the future of AI will head toward ambient intelligence, which blends seamlessly into daily life and acts proactively based on context.

“AI with multimodal capabilities and the ability to understand user intent will eventually evolve into ambient intelligence,” he said.

“It will move fluidly across devices and apps, becoming part of every moment in a user’s daily life like air … To make this a reality, many supporting technologies are important, but having the right hardware to capture user input effectively is crucial, and this is where Samsung has a strong advantage.”