In the last few weeks, Apple released a suite of new “ambient AI” features for Siri and the Apple Watch. Basically, your watch will now listen into all your conversations and help you remember what was said.
It’s clear that these features, if they work as advertised, will be incredibly useful. Everyone can walk around and go about their days with an always-on EA in tow. “What did my wife ask me to pick up on the way home from work again?” will no longer be a question I need to ask myself (or her), my watch will just tell me that I promised to pick up milk on the way home.
That said, there’s something about everyone’s Apple Watch recording our dinner conversations with friends that just feels off. The dystopian script writes itself.
Of course, the opposite argument is easy to make. This (ambient surveillance) has all been possible for years—you can (secretly) record conversations with Voice Memos and everyone is already using ambient recording tools like Granola at work. This is nothing new, it’s just Apple, as they always do, nailing the broad mass-market consumer application of technology that has existed for years.
Apple’s steadfast stance (and track record) on privacy is admirable, and does make this all a bit easier to swallow, but nevertheless, one/we should question what the second order impacts might be, before diving in head-first. On the product design side, Apple deserve some real credit too. No raw audio or transcripts are stored in the cloud or on device, and the user simply receives “smart summaries” (notes and reminders) based on what they’re saying (and hearing). I think the form factor is right too. Glasses are creepy and weird, even if they are modded Ray Bans. No one wants to hang with a friend at a party (or the beach) wearing glasses with a camera in them.
This tech is going to be useful. The utility is not the question, it’s whether we (should) want it in the first place. It’s trade offs, all the way down. Attention, presence and the human connection. This gets me thinking about what the “new” etiquette for this stuff is going to look like. I guess the cynical frame is that, we’ve already adapted to “worsened'“ etiquette in all sorts of bad ways. It feels rare (and refreshing) to sit at a diner where no one is on their phone. It’s weird that feels rare, but I guess it’s because we’ve adjusted our etiquette standards with regard to the role of technology in our social lives. I guess it’s pretty hard to argue the same won’t be true of smart glasses and AI pendants.
Perhaps the cool new and rebellious trend will be gatherings where you are asked to leave your watch at the door? A modern speakeasy for dangerous conversation!
