Picture this: On a normal workday, you and your coworkers walk around the office with tiny recorders clipped to your clothes. The glasses on your face nearly instantly identify what you see. Your bracelet records and analyzes all your conversations.
This is the future tech companies envision in the age of AI, whether consumers want it or not.
Major tech companies and startups are developing new types of wearable gadgets that can “see” or “hear.” Meta is selling millions of its EssilorLuxottica AI glasses with embedded cameras and microphones; Samsung will launch its own smart glasses later this year.
Wearing these items can give AI assistants instantaneous access to your life. Tech leaders hope that will help AI agents give advice tailored to users and, eventually, do things for you.
I personally tried to live in that future, integrating different wearables into my work and personal life. They were helpful in certain situations. But I often felt awkward asking friends and coworkers to record our interactions.
Devices that can watch you – and others – also put privacy at risk, experts say.
Unlike phones, they’re harder to spot, said Irina Raicu, director of the internet ethics program at Santa Clara University’s Marukkula Center for Applied Ethics.
“So the whole notion of consent is kind of disintegrating,” she said.
For years, tech companies tracked our lives via search trends, shopping habits, locations, and fitness routines online. Now, AI-enabled devices open up the possibility of using broader input from your real-world surroundings.
I wore three devices over the past several months – Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses, the Amazon Bee Pioneer wristband and Plaud’s Notepin S, a small recorder that you can clip onto your clothing. I took them to office, on work trips, even during vacation and at social gatherings. (The companies all provided them to CNN for testing.)
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