Humans have a hard time remembering things. We forget things over time. We fail to remember things because we are not very attentive. We remember things poorly because of our inherent biases and the way we perceive the world. There is a lot happening, and we do not retain them for long.
Maybe AI can solve this problem. It seems we are about to find out. Microsoft, for example, is doing a big bet on Recallan app that promises to use AI to collect, store, organize, and resurface everything you do and see on your computer. (Imagine being able to simply ask your computer, “What was that article about bees I read the other day? What was the timeline it mentioned?”) At this year’s Google I/O, the most impressive AI demonstration was a way to remember where you left your glasses. Apple thinks you could use AI to create photo albums and even emotional videos to remember big moments. And companies like Notion And Dropbox Companies are building AI into their own tools to help you find and remember all your meetings and tasks. They all promise the same thing: Don’t worry about remembering things, because the computer will do it for you. And it will do it faster and better.
On this episode of The VergecastWe speak to one of the people who has been working on this problem for a very long time: Dan Siroker, the CEO of UnlimitedWe talk about what it takes to create a great cheat sheet, how we might use them in the future, and why it’s so hard to achieve.
We also talk about the human side of this: How does it change our lives when we stop forgetting things? Is remembering your friend’s birthday different when an AI model actually does it? And will these tools ever really work outside of work? Tools like Limitless are coming fast and improving fast, and we’re going to have to figure out how to live with them.
If you’re interested in learning more about everything we discuss in this episode, here are some links to get you started:
