The Rise of AI-Powered Wearables: Recording, Transcribing, and Personalizing Conversations

by Sylvia January 8, 2025

Imagine a world where AI-powered wearables are continuously recording every conversation and interaction we have. That world is becoming a reality with the introduction of devices like the Bee AI Pioneer and Omi. These wearables record conversations, provide transcripts and summaries, and even generate personalized to-do lists based on our daily interactions. With a focus on convenience and accessibility, these always-listening gadgets are poised to become a new normal. However, the privacy concerns that come with such devices raise questions about the potential impact on our lives. Will the benefits outweigh the risks? Only time will tell.

The Rise of AI-Powered Wearables: Recording, Transcribing, and Personalizing Conversations

– Bee AI and Omi are two new wearables that use AI to record conversations and provide personalized insights and tasks based on the recorded data.
– Bee AI’s yellow wearable listens to conversations and provides text transcripts and summaries through a mobile app.
– Omi’s wearable can be affixed to the forehead and uses brainwave recognition to understand and process requests, while also capturing and processing conversations for transcription and other features.

I spent a day at CES wearing a yellow Pioneer wearable from Bee AI, a device that recorded everything around me and provided personalized to-do lists and summaries of my conversations. This new wave of artificially intelligent wearables is continuously recording the world around us, always listening and analyzing our interactions. These wearables are often cheap in terms of hardware, but the real magic lies in the software that taps into large language models to analyze conversations. Bee AI’s wearable, for example, has two microphones for noise isolation and can be worn as a band or clipped to your shirt. While it doesn’t have a green LED to indicate recording, it can capture and process conversations without storing audio. Everything is treated as maximally sensitive, with no plans to monetize or share the collected data.

Similarly, Omi, another company I spoke with, unveiled a wearable that can create an activity log by recording the world around you. Omi’s wearable can be worn as a pendant or affixed to the side of your forehead. It uses an electroencephalogram to understand when you’re thinking about talking to it, eliminating the need for a wake word. Like Bee AI, Omi captures conversations throughout the day and processes them on the paired phone and in the cloud. Omi also has a marketplace for third-party ideas, allowing developers to create apps that enhance its integration with everyday apps.

On the other hand, if you’re wary of the constant recording, Natura Umana offers a pair of wireless earbuds called HumanPods. These earbuds require a double-tap to turn on and trigger the onboard AI, giving you more control over when it’s listening. The HumanPods are designed for personalized interactions, with different AI avatars for specific needs. For example, Athena is a fitness and health AI persona that can suggest workouts based on your health data, while Hector is an AI therapist that offers stress-reducing suggestions. These earbuds are set to arrive in the first quarter of this year.

All of these AI wearables aim to provide a more helpful and personalized experience, but there are concerns surrounding privacy and the potential for overpromising and underdelivering. The push towards always-listening gadgets raises alarms about privacy, and it remains to be seen whether these concerns will slow down the progress of these wearables. However, the steady march towards the integration of AI in wearables suggests that microphones that are always on could become the new normal.

As technology advances, we may see more wearables with AI capabilities entering the market, offering convenience and personalization in various aspects of our lives. While there are valid concerns about privacy, it’s clear that the development of these wearables is pushing the boundaries of what is possible in terms of AI assistance. Whether they will truly revolutionize our daily routines or become just another passing trend remains to be seen.