Spend five minutes with will.i.am and it becomes glaringly apparent that aside from being the driving force behind one of hip hop’s most influential groups, this rapper, writer, actor and record producer is also a forward-thinking innovator shaping the future of technology. A proud Los Angeles native – specifically from Boyle Heights – the Black Eyed Peas co-founder possesses a rare ability to bridge music and innovation, seamlessly merging creativity with cutting-edge advancements in ways few can.
I experienced this firsthand during my years at will.i.am's now-defunct multimedia company, i.amMedia. Inside this Hollywood-based creative hub – aptly dubbed The Future – I saw him launch futuristic BUTTON earbuds (under his i.am+ label in 2016), sci-fi-inspired mask collaborations with Honeywell, augmented reality software for live performances, a graphic novel release with Marvel and virtual reality experiences with Oculus, all while working to advance AI models.
Even before that, will.i.am (born William Adams) was ahead of the curve. As a founding equity stakeholder in Beats Electronics with Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine (long before its Apple acquisition), he played a key role in shaping the audio industry. He also served as Intel’s director of creative innovation and even beat Apple to the smartwatch market in 2014 – yes, a year before the inaugural Apple Watch landed.
And I haven't even started on his upcoming release with LG and its XBoom speakers, which we dubbed some of our favorite speakers of CES 2025.
The multiple Grammy winning artist has recently doubled down on his commitment to AI, alongside a firm affirmation that an "AI Constitution" should be put in place, to set decent boundaries – but more on all of that later.
I managed to speak with will.i.am for the first time in years (he agreed to meet me halfway, if you will) as part of his FYI.AI and Qualcomm partnership promotion, at SXSW 2025 in Austin, Texas.
What lessons did you learn from your numerous tech ventures that help you work with LG and Qualcomm now?
So, the lesson is that first sentence that Jimmy (Iovine, at Beats) said to me back in 2006 or maybe 2007: "You know what? I call it hard when it's hard." That. Sometimes being naive and audacious, courageous, fearless, you learn a whole bunch through the process. And it was hard. But I learned a lot. We succeeded with Beats, but there was a configuration with Interscope where Jimmy was at the helm of some awesome artists – Dr. Dre's legacy. Everybody that came around to support that.
When I did i.am+ (the tech and lifestyle brand will.i.am launched in 2013) I also learned a lot. We innovated; we did things that people weren't doing. I learned that sometimes you can be too early. You want to be right on time – you don't want to be early. Sometimes being the first rep, the first mouse to the cheese, you get hit by that mouse trap. But being second, you get to eat! You ate that cheese that the first mouse was trying to get. So I could say right now, I'm right on time.
And how's that going with LG and Qualcomm?
We are partnered with LG in a major way, and now with Qualcomm in a major way. In the next couple of days, we're going to be partnered up with Mercedes in a major way too. And so partnerships is what it's all about, people that validate the vision.
In April we'll have our academic education partner. So we have consumer electronics with LG, we have the chip with Qualcomm, we have automobile partnerships, not just Mercedes with Sound Drive, but we'll have other partnerships that will come. Qualcomm will get even more folks to adopt the solution, with the software on a chip. So I learned that partnerships make the world go round. Or ideas – accelerating ideas.
Given your history with Beats and BUTTONS, what features did you want to be sure made it to LG's XBoom speakers?
That sound experience. One of the things that made BUTTONS stand out against the competition at that time was the soundscape, the tuning and EQ-ing. So the XBoom products sound great as far as the tuning; we brought that studio mastering high quality perspective to the tuning of these speakers so the experience sounds alive. It sounds expressive.
'I like Instagram like everybody else – I'm on the toilet longer'
From will.i.am's groundbreaking MBUX Sound Drive partnership with Mercedes-Benz to the launch of FYI.AI, a cutting-edge productivity tool for creatives, he continues to push the boundaries of innovation.
Last week, it was announced that FYI (Focus Your Ideas) is teaming up with Qualcomm to optimize FYI.AI for Snapdragon-powered devices, enhancing personalization, security, and responsiveness. The collaboration will also explore product integration, joint development, testing, and distribution of AI-driven creative tools across smartphones, cars, audio, XR, and robotics.
And when will.i.am talks about AI and social media, he levels up yet again. There's an urgency to his speech (yes, that unmistakable rapper delivery) and even, on occasion, anger and concern. He needs you to know this stuff – right now.
Do you see a future where AI plays a role in personalizing the audio experience beyond listening?
AI will play a role in making the speaker a speaker – and I mean a communicator, not just a speaker. We've seen Alexa on a speaker but that was like a command, right? You commanded Alexa to do things. You didn't have deep conversations with Alexa; you didn't debate the times as the world unfolded with Alexa, or Siri for that matter. AI is going to transform a speaker to an awesome banter companion. As the world unfolds and things happen, you're going to dive deep into all the details (with AI). You're going to compare; you're going to have analytical perspectives. It's going to expand people's critical thinking. Yeah, it's going to be awesome.
What inspired you to launch FYI.AI, and how does the partnership with Qualcomm enhance its capabilities for creatives?
So I came up with FYI.AI in Covid, stuck at home like everyone else. And I'm like, why do I have to have five products just to work off Messenger? Why do I have to have Dropbox and a WeTransfer on Messenger? And then all my comments are on Dropbox and WeTransfer and on email, when I'm conversating with people on Messenger. And then I have to go through all the spam just to reply. What I want to have is a central place for all my creative endeavours, where I could send large files, on Messenger and it doesn't compress them. I could open up large files in the messenger, not like 'this is too big to open up on your phone' and to have to go to a laptop.
Why are we doing that? So we built FYI.AI for that, but then while I built it and we launched it, I was having a hard time getting people downloading it and using it. Why? Because their friends weren't on it. So what good is a messenger service if your contacts aren't on it? I'm like, dang it! So then I was like, yo, what if we build AIs on it to where it doesn't matter if your colleagues or your networks on it, you could just network with smart intelligent experts across these different domains but make 'em feel hyper expressive, quasi human-like?
And so, it took us from 2020 to 2023 to build all that. In 2024, we launched our AI dashboard and then we created this feature called Radio. And then we got a couple of car companies and we got LG. Then Qualcomm came knocking on our door and hit us with that 'OK, y'all got some pretty big fish, wouldn't you like more fish?' And so that is going to help us scale. Qualcomm's going to help us take our solution to more vehicles, more devices, more TVs, more speakers.
What’s the difference between responsible usage of AI and exploitative usage?
Exploitative use of AI is social media. We already have that. It's called 'You don't own your data'. Oh my gosh, you're listening to me like, wait, no?! They're predicting you and they're listening to you. Exploitive use of AI is called cookies. They used some cute little word called cookies. They might as well just throw the word 'monster' on it! But even that, it's cute. The cookie monster is cute, but if there was the right word for it, it's called ‘all up in your sh*t.’
Do you want to clear your cookies? Nope. Do you want to clear what's all up in your sh*t? Real f***ing word for that sh*t, bro. And let's hope that we get our stuff together to where it's not configured in what's coming, because now you have a hyper predictive mic always on for some companies, and an AI that is beyond what was up in your sh*t with the cookie monster.
And so our practice is to be mindful of people's data. We don't sell your data, it's yours. That's not our business practice. We are not all up in your stuff. Yours is yours. So we take that very seriously: focus your ideas, these are yours. And as a creative, being mindful of how I feel about people all up in next thing, you know? I'm like, why is my phone slow? Oh, somebody's up in there not even knowing, because I didn't read the terms and conditions. Everybody does it; press accept. Right? I think that's wrong because no, you can't even be like a 'Yo Siri who's all up in my sh*t right now?' You can't even do that. Yeah like, 'Hey Siri, who got access to my microphone and my camera?'
Something that stuck with me during my time working with you was your mention of an AI Bill of Rights…
That or like an AI Constitution. Folks sign it as a way to tell people to trust their companies. And anyone who doesn't sign it? You shouldn't be f***ing with 'em. If there was an AI constitution, it's like when you walk down the street, you'd be like, 'Yo, I'm hungry' and you see right there, like, oh, this restaurant got an 'F' for hygiene, you ain't eating at the restaurant with the 'F' unless you’re really hungry. Or, you go to the supermarket and be like 'Yo, what's in this package?' And some people are super conscious about certain food additives. But look what happened – people stood up and now there's no more Red Dye Number 3. Red Number 40, that's out. It took a while for us to do that, but the information helped.
The same should be for AI and people's data practice and privacy practice, because the public doesn't know it. The public is not aware of just the power of data. Here's something: we all got bank accounts, we all know you can't get a job without a bank account. You can't buy a house with cash. You can't be like, ‘Yo, I got a bag full of money. How much, yo, that house is like 10 million. Yo, I got 10 million cash right now.’ They'd be like, 'You ain't buying no house with 10 million cash'. You can't do that – at least in some places in America. You have to have a bank account, you have to have some type of email account, you have to have all these things. It makes no sense at all if you think about the power of data and the power of money. So, here's a company that has more money than the companies that hold everybody's money. If you were to take Bank of America and Meta, how could a company that gives you something for free be worth more money that has everybody's money?
If you were to take Bank of America and Wells Fargo and Citibank, put all their money together and then take all the companies, that still ain't rocking Meta. That gives you something for free. That's the power of data. And data should be a human right, owning your data. So power to the people really is people owning data. And nothing against Meta. I like Instagram like everybody else. We all addicted to it; I'm on the toilet longer than I usually was! And I hope that, yes, I also believe that regulation can harm innovation, but then that's just basic sh*t.
How does will.i.am see his place in as a technologist now compared to almost two decades ago?
Oh, practice makes perfect. And all those things that I was trying and then ambitious about that didn't pan out the way I wanted them to or wished them, just furthered my understanding even more. It made me a better entrepreneur. It's made me a better hunter for partners. I've gotten really good because of the mistakes I've made – it's OK to try and not get it right. That's what school is about. You went to school, you took a test and you got some things wrong. And now you know the answer to that. I was one of those kids, like two plus two with 22. No bro, that's four. Alright, now I know four. Got it.
Our time's up and I have to say goodbye to the whirlwind of a creative. Yes, will.i.am, you got it…
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