OpenAI appears to making a tiny keyboard to let coders talk to ChatGPT.The hardware was revealed in a dramatic post on OpenAI’s account for developers. It appears to suggest that the keyboard would let people save their most-used shortcuts and access them quickly, by pressing a button, for use in its Codex platform for programming.You might think that OpenAI might have more important things to do. It is after all the company that claims to be not far away from developing AGI – artificial intelligence that is as generally capable as a human – and will need trillions of dollars and maybe even whole nuclear fusion to get there.But it is in keeping with a range of previous updates from OpenAI, which have two key focuses. The first is fairly simple – but the second could be very complicated indeed.The first reason for OpenAI launching the hardware is in keeping with its sometimes very keen attempts to build a brand, and seem cool. Especially in recent months, OpenAI’s competitors such as Anthropic have seemed to dramatically overtake it in terms of branding, and launching a product with a flashy video could be an attempt to undo some of that.Ultimately, all of the big AI firms – including both Anthropic and OpenAI – are competing largely on branding, given that all of their models and products are largely comparable in terms of performance. Some of that branding is more substantive, such as the ethical positions they take and the aesthetic choices they make about the way their tools work, but some are more superficial, such as launching merchandise.But the much more meaningful reason that OpenAI could be launching the small keyboard is a first run at making the hardware it hopes could really bring ChatGPT into the world. Until now, its AI assistant has largely lived either in a phone or a computer – but it wants to change that.Around this time last year, OpenAI announced that it is working with former Apple designer Jony Ive to build new AI-focused hardware. It said very little about what that might actually be, but rumours largely focus on perhaps a small pendant or desk accessory that could be carried around and include cameras, microphones and other kit for speaking with ChatGPT.Actually building that will require the company to gain or at least contract out some important new skills: designing and building consumer hardware, and the vast machinery required to get it into people’s hands. Building a keyboard that is likely to have much less scrutiny and a smaller customer base could be a helpful first run at that.OpenAI is just one of many companies attempting to find a new form of hardware that could allow people to access AI – perhaps with a view to one day replacing the phone. That includes everything from Meta’s AI smart glasses to rumoured Apple AirPods with cameras, though for now everything from ChatGPT to Claude tends to be accessed through a much more traditional computer or phone.