A NEW LEVEL OF INTIMACY . . . BUT WITH WHOM?

The inherent intimacy of these devices will dictate how and where we use them. Anyone walking by can see what’s on your computer screen. Even our phones aren’t completely private. But even if an AI doesn’t know your deepest secrets, it’s still in your ear—the equivalent to someone holding their lips just inches from your ear.

"With the Apple Watch, I’m addressing a machine. I’m talking to a thing on my wrist. While it’s got a Dick Tracy-like schtick to it, it is still a very specific invocation of a function," says Mark Rolston, former CCO of Frog and founder ofArgodesign. "Whereas, talking to myself, and having a ghost, angel, or devil on my shoulder, is a much more, I don’t know—it has deeper psychological implications, the idea that there is someone else in my head."

Are you ready to have a helper artificial intelligence in your head?

Because I don't feel ready. I feel scared, frankly.

What if it whispered encouragement?