Skip to main content TechRadar the technology experts Search TechRadar View Profile België (Nederlands) Deutschland North America US (English) Australasia New Zealand Tech Radar Pro Tech Radar Gaming Back to school Nintendo Switch 2 NYT Wordle today Best laptop Best web hosting Recommended reading Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality Meta's next smart glasses might have an always-on AI – I don't care how useful it is, I'm never turning it on Artificial Intelligence Google is offering all its best Gemini AI features for free, but only long enough to get you hooked Artificial Intelligence iPhones just got Google’s best AI feature for free – and it could genuinely make me switch back from Android I'm a die-hard iPhone fan, but switching to Android has shown me what Apple Intelligence is missing Artificial Intelligence Sam Altman and Jony Ive’s mysterious ‘AI-powered computer’ will be OpenAI’s magnum opus - here are 5 clues that hint at what it will be Artificial Intelligence rabbit returns: AI gadget maker takes on Sam Altman and Jony Ive in a race for AI device dominance Artificial Intelligence Meta AI's experimental new smart glasses can see everything you do and even tell how you feel about it Artificial Intelligence If you felt like Amazon could eavesdrop on you before, get ready to meet its AI wearable Eric Hal Schwartz 24 July 2025 Amazon’s newly acquired wrist-worn AI listens to your life in case you want ambient surveillance When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Bee AI) Amazon is looking to make AI part of your daily life and has turned to the world of wearables to help. The tech giant has just acquired Bee AI, the maker of the eponymous device for your wrist or lapel that listens to everything happening around you. Bee’s microphones and built-in AI transcribe it all in real time and make personalized summaries of your day and your stated upcoming tasks, and then make recommendations to improve your life based not only on what it hears, but the emails, calendar, contacts, photos, locations, and other data you allow it to access. People already make jokes about how they will be discussing a product with someone else in person and, seemingly by magic, it will appear in their recommended products on Amazon. That can usually be chalked up to coincidence and forgetting previous searches, along with being unaware of your app permissions. You may like Meta's next smart glasses might have an always-on AI – I don't care how useful it is, I'm never turning it on Google is offering all its best Gemini AI features for free, but only long enough to get you hooked iPhones just got Google’s best AI feature for free – and it could genuinely make me switch back from Android However, this may become part of Amazon's business model, prompting people to wear microphones to listen all day and pay $50, plus a $19 monthly subscription, for the privilege. Bee listening Naturally, Amazon saw potential in Bee. Alexa has mostly been stuck inside the house despite attempts at smart glasses and other wearables. Bee is a chance for Amazon to make its AI a real-world concern, part of your actual conversations and routines, not just what you yell across the kitchen. That might be helpful, but it's impossible not to think about what it might mean in terms of privacy and trust. To be fair, Bee has a mute button you can hold down to pause recording when you need a moment of peace. But that assumes you realize you’re about to say something you might not want permanently archived by Amazon. Bee listens and turns your life into searchable text. Although the company claims it doesn’t retain the raw audio, the transcripts remain unless you delete them. I don't know if I want everything I mutter under my breath to be a searchable note. Not to mention whatever it might overhear from when I watch TV or movies at home. I get the appeal of a little AI that remembers everything so you don’t have to. Remembering every chore and birthday would be great. But the line between deliberate memory aid and surveillance feels blurry with it. Especially when Amazon already has so much information. Although Amazon has promised to work with Bee, allowing users to have control over their data, the actual shape of that control remains unclear for now. And control is too often translated into a complex settings menu and paragraph of boilerplate text in the terms and conditions. I know plenty of people who would at least try out Bee, especially when it becomes an Amazon device with all the special sales and integration with the e-commerce site that implies. Perfect recall is a tempting commodity, but it has its price. If you're willing to pay it, then I say go for it. Not every microphone is the gateway to Skynet. But skepticism and caution are essential if you want something to sit on your wrist and transform the events of your life into data points that might help sell you products. You might also like Google just announced 5 new Gemini features coming to Android, and it’s good news for fans of foldable smartphones I tried Google’s new Gemini-powered clothing app – here’s how you can use AI to find the perfect outfit Adding Google Gemini to Samsung's Ballie AI robot sounds impressive, but I'm not sure it matters Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Eric Hal Schwartz Social Links Navigation Contributor Eric Hal Schwartz is a freelance writer for TechRadar with more than 15 years of experience covering the intersection of the world and technology. For the last five years, he served as head writer for Voicebot.ai and was on the leading edge of reporting on generative AI and large language models. He's since become an expert on the products of generative AI models, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude, Google Gemini, and every other synthetic media tool. His experience runs the gamut of media, including print, digital, broadcast, and live events. Now, he's continuing to tell the stories people want and need to hear about the rapidly evolving AI space and its impact on their lives. Eric is based in New York City. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. 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