Your memory isn’t what it used to be, or even what you thought it was now.

Have you ever been in a situation like this? You’re rushing out of an important meeting when your boss mentions three tasks you need to handle by Friday. Normally, you’d scramble for your phone to jot them down, but today you have a small pendant hanging from your shirt collar, and you subtly tap it. It heard everything and will remind you later.

Everything? Do you find this unnerving? Do you want EVERYTHING recorded? Well, hold tight because the future is coming on strong, and some of it is here right now.

This isn’t science fiction anymore. It’s happening now with AI devices that are sleek and quietly revolutionizing how we remember, think, and work. And what was once thought to be a normal human frailty, forgetting, will become a thing of the past, or so the researchers and AI companies say.

Do we sometimes want to forget? Of course, we do, and few of us aspire to emulate the remarkable Luria’s “S.” Anyone who has read Luria’s book knows that “S” found his inability to forget highly disturbing and not in the least advantageous for his future. This unfortunate but gifted man even tried a nightclub memory act, which failed.

The Rise of Our Digital Memory Assistants

In 2025, we’re witnessing something remarkable: tiny computers that live on our bodies and think alongside us. The Limitless Pendant is leading this charge as “the world’s most wearable AI”. Unlike bulky smartwatches or obvious headsets, this device looks more like jewelry than cutting-edge technology. But therein lies its secret “magic.” Do we want this?

The pendant is ultra-lightweight and clips magnetically to your clothes, shirt collar, or even a necklace. It’s weatherproof, has a 100-hour battery life, and comes in eight different colors to match your style. But here’s what makes it special: it remembers everything you say throughout the day.

I don’t know about you, but I’m not so sure I want that formidable a memory device. In a world where memory is usually seen as flawed, this would be abnormal, but it would also be highly useful to the legal system. Imagine having everything you have said for who knows how many days brought into a courtroom and used against you.

From lunch meetings to doctor visits, from brainstorming sessions to casual conversations, the device is always listening, always learning about your life. It’s like having a super-smart assistant who forgets nothing and never takes sick days. Well, we’d all like assistants like that, wouldn’t we, but do we want all that info anywhere? If you thought chatbots with memory capacity were awe-inspiring, these devices will knock your socks off.

How These Tiny Devices Are Changing Everything

Think about how much information flows through your day. Phone calls, meetings, random ideas while you’re walking, important details your doctor mentions, and creative thoughts that hit you in the shower. Most of this valuable information just disappears into the void of our imperfect human memory. Memory experts have, for years, shown us how imperfect human memory is.

This new device isn’t alone in this revolution. Across the tech industry, companies are racing to put AI directly on our bodies. Meta has its Ray-Ban smart glasses that can see and understand your surroundings. Rokid just launched the world’s lightest AI-powered smart glasses at just 49 grams. Even tech giants like OpenAI are reportedly working on their own wearable AI devices. It seems “wearable” is the watchword in technology.

This trend represents a fundamental shift in how we interact with technology. Instead of pulling out phones and staring at screens, AI is becoming ambient and even woven into our clothes, hanging from our necks, sitting on our faces in our glasses. As one industry expert put it, we’re moving toward a “natural” extension of who and what we are today and there’s no two ways about it. I’m not sure this extension is so “natural.”

The numbers tell the story. AI usage in workplaces has nearly doubled in the past two years, jumping from 21% to 40% of employees. Wearable AI devices are expected to capture an even larger share of this growing market as people discover the convenience of hands-free, always-available assistance. But who will “discover” this new technology and how might it be used for or against us? Things are not so clear-cut here, and there is a darker side.

The Dark Side of Perfect Memory

The troubling question lurking beneath the shiny surface of these devices is whether or not we’re making ourselves smarter, or just more dependent.
Critics worry that devices like these might be affecting our basic cognitive functioning and “outsourcing” it to technology.

When a device remembers everything for us, do we lose the ability to remember things ourselves? Do we, in effect, become lazy and reliant when we should maintain our critical thinking abilities along with our memory processing? When AI takes notes and creates summaries, do we stop actively listening and thinking critically about what we hear? For me, critical thinking is key to humanity.

There are also serious privacy concerns. We’re already feeling pressure to limit what we store on our cell phones, computers, and even “cloud” servers. Can all of this total-memory AI be used against us?

Sure, the device is always listening, and it has a “Consent Mode” that can be turned on and is turned off by default. But can you be sure? I don’t mean to sound paranoid, but we're aware of backdoors and access to “private” modes in everything. We’ve all seen enough TV shows to enlighten us regarding safeguards on cell phones and storage towers.

Another question we should consider is whether there is compliance with healthcare information, as outlined in HIPAA regulations. Right now, it’s not in these devices, and we can only hope that someone is actively incorporating this for our protection. Isn’t this something you want protected? Who will decide, and who will write the algorithms for this?

Real People, Real Benefits

Despite these concerns, early users are finding genuine value in AI wearables. Business professionals use them to never miss important meeting details. Students use them to review lectures and study more effectively. People with memory issues find them invaluable for maintaining independence and confidence in social situations.

The key is finding the right balance. These devices work best when they enhance human capability rather than replace it entirely. Think of them as cognitive amplifiers rather than cognitive replacements.

Whenever I read something like this, I’m constantly reminded of HAL, the computer in “2001: A Space Odyssey.” My favorite line, of course, is “I’m sorry, Dave. I can’t do that.” And then it follows that up with, “Perhaps you should take a stress pill.” Okay, I may not have gotten those quotations correct, but you can find them on the internet, and you can even find MP3 files to add to your ringtone.

The Future Is Already Here

As we move deeper into 2025, the question isn’t whether AI wearables will become mainstream but how quickly we’ll adapt to living with them. The technology is improving rapidly, becoming smaller, smarter, and more integrated into our daily lives. But I am also thinking about the cost. Who will be able to afford these devices, and who will find them to be things of value to steal?

Companies are already working on the next generation of these devices. Some will have displays built into contact lenses. Contact lenses will have a greater ability to improve vision because they may contain small micro-components or even release medications. Other devices will be embedded in clothing fibers. We’re heading toward a world where AI assistance is literally woven into the fabric of our lives. Is it “Total Recall” time yet?

Yes, the changes are coming gradually in some respects, but in others, they are leaping ahead. Look at how AI is advancing with new iterations of chatbots that can not only do internet searches and analyses but can also capture and create images from text prompts. Some of these chatbots are also able to read text and turn it into an image. The AIs can even speak to us directly, rather than just connecting with us via text on our computer screens.

One company is working on using our thinking so that we won’t even have to verbalize commands. We are now anticipating that Apple will once again turn the technology on its ear. Rumors suggest that new technology will not only be embedded in our cell phones but also in every aspect of our lives, with devices becoming so numerous that they are hard to consider. Even our refrigerators are going to remember what we like, what we order, and make our grocery lists for us.

Are you ready for the future that’s here?