Hardware

LG Electronics (LG) unveiled its vision for AI-powered customer experiences themed “Life’s Good 24/7 with Affectionate Intelligence” at the LG World Premiere event in Las Vegas on January 6, the eve of CES 2025.

Over 1,000 attendees, including global media and partners, were present at the press conference, which was also livestreamed online. Showcasing the full scope of the LG Affectionate Intelligence customer experience, the event stage was divided into three areas representing the various spaces in people’s lives, from the home to mobility and commercial spaces. Through engaging demonstrations highlighting real-life scenarios, LG has made clear how the company’s advanced AI will transform daily life for the better.

LG “Affectionate Intelligence” is redefining the conventional, technical understanding of AI by focusing on its potential to enhance the customer experience. This concept leverages AI technology to better understand and empathise with customers, delivering more personalised and differentiated experiences.

The LG World Premiere kicked off with a video titled “Less Artificial, More Human,” followed by a keynote speech delivered by LG CEO William Cho.

“At LG, we’re seamlessly integrating AI into physical living spaces around us. We see space not merely as a physical location but as an environment where holistic experiences come to life – across the Home, Mobility, Commercial and even Virtual spaces,” said CEO Cho. “In these spaces, devices and services will harmonize to create entirely new customer value. This is where our Affectionate Intelligence truly shines, clearly standing out from the others.”

Cho then highlighted three fundamental elements to realise this vision: connected devices, capable AI agents and integrated services.

Connected devices, which serve as the customer touchpoint for AI, are one of the company’s greatest assets. Not only are there hundreds of millions of LG smart products already in use worldwide, but with last year’s acquisition of smart home solutions provider Athom, LG now offers seamless connectivity with IoT devices from over 170 global brands.

As for AI agents, LG is set to advance its own, LG FURON, which combines the power of generative AI built on large language models with real-time spatial sensing and insights into customer lifestyle patterns. This innovative AI agent can understand customer situations and contexts in real-time, coordinating devices and services to provide a more tailored and responsive user experience, all while helping to protect personal data.

To support his vision of providing compelling integrated services, CEO Cho announced a strategic partnership with Microsoft. The partnership will see LG products and customer insights from various spaces, such as the home, mobility and commercial areas, combine with Microsoft AI technology to implement empathetic AI integrated services.

Judson Althoff, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at Microsoft, shared, “At Microsoft, we believe AI will fundamentally change the way we live and work, and we could not be more excited to partner with LG Electronics – the pioneers of smart, connected spaces – to integrate AI into life’s everyday experiences.”

The two companies are working on enhancing AI agents for various spaces, including homes, vehicles, hotels and offices. LG has been applying Microsoft voice recognition and speech synthesis technologies to its Self-Driving AI Home Hub, enabling it to understand diverse accents, pronunciations and colloquial expressions. The partnership will also aim to develop AI agents that not only understand and interact with customers but also predict their needs and preferences.

Althoff also announced further Microsoft collaboration with LG in the rapidly growing field of AI data centres. With LG thermal management systems and advanced chiller technologies optimised for AI data centres, the partnership aims to enhance energy efficiency in these critical backbones of AI infrastructure. Together, LG and Microsoft plan to create next-generation data centres that are more efficient and sustainable.

Illustrating Cho’s Affectionate Intelligence vision, LG captivated the audience with a short play about a family’s day from morning to night. Departing from the traditional product presentation speech format, this vivid portrayal demonstrated how the company’s AI innovations unveiled at CES 2025 and driven by the vision of “Better Life for All,” seamlessly enhance everyday life across various spaces.

In the morning scene, LG AI agent, FURON, highlights its personalised capabilities: “I noticed some coughing last night, so I adjusted the room temperature for your comfort.” Beyond environmental adjustments, FURON also demonstrates thoughtful assistance, suggesting, “You don’t have any plans this afternoon – why not accompany your mother to her scheduled health check-up?”

The morning commute further highlights the convenience of AI integration. In the car, the LG AI-powered in-cabin sensing solution detects when the driver forgets their coffee tumbler, asking, “Would you like to stop by a café two minutes away for coffee?” It also monitors biometric signals, responding to an elevated heart rate before an afternoon meeting by playing soothing music to help the driver relax. The system also proactively suggests rerouting to avoid accidents and recommends the driver park the car to hold a video conference inside the vehicle if traffic delays risk causing the driver to miss an important meeting. Upon arriving at the office, the AI adds a personal touch, such as displaying previously recorded family vacation footage on the car’s internal and external cameras.

After work, the living room TV equipped with AI technology enhances the home entertainment experience. It analyses the viewing environment, patterns and history to recommend tailored content. If the customer mentions difficulty hearing dialogue in a video, the AI adjusts the audio, enhancing voice clarity by isolating it from background noise and making it sound as though it’s coming naturally from the centre of the TV screen.

Concluding his keynote address, CEO Cho emphasised AI’s role in driving change across both B2C (business-to-consumer) and B2B (business-to-business) sectors.

He highlighted innovative initiatives like the LG Smart Cottage, a compact modular home that integrates AI-powered appliances, HVAC systems and other technologies to redefine residential living. Similarly, LG envisions the automobile as a “personalised digital cave,” featuring software-defined vehicle solutions and AI technologies that understand and adapt to both the internal and external vehicle environment, delivering groundbreaking mobility experiences.

In smart factory solutions, LG leverages over 60 years of world-class manufacturing expertise, offering next-generation manufacturing systems powered by AI and robotics. Additionally, the company’s AI-based thermal management systems and advanced chiller technologies are optimising energy efficiency in AI data centres worldwide.

“Our ultimate goal is simple yet profound: to leverage AI as a means to create holistic customer value, no matter where you are,” said CEO Cho. “Irrespective of how AI transforms our lives, one thing will never change: our promise of Life’s Good. With this unwavering commitment, we will strive to deliver differentiated customer experiences – seen or unseen – to everyone, everywhere, every time.”