"Every year, I sit in these fancy amphitheaters and watch the biggest names in tech promise how their latest phone, smartwatch, app, chatbot, or doohickey will make our lives better. This calendar app? It's going to make you more efficient. This smartwatch? Get ready for six-pack abs and a sub-four-hour marathon time. AI on your phone will give you so much of your time back that, buddy, you won't know what to do with it."
"I open boxes, download apps, interview founders, and get to testing. Sometimes, these things truly do make my life better. Other times, they send me spiraling thanks to data overload, meaningless metrics, or sensors that just don't work. I'm willing to experiment because I want to work smarter, not harder. But I've learned from experience that these new gadgets are just as likely to leave me frustrated as they are to make me a healthier, more productive person."
Big Tech routinely promises that new phones, smartwatches, apps, chatbots, and gadgets will improve efficiency, fitness, and free up time. Hands-on examination involves unboxing devices, installing apps, interviewing founders, and running tests. Outcomes vary: some products genuinely improve daily life, while others produce data overload, meaningless metrics, and malfunctioning sensors that cause stress. Experimentation is motivated by a desire to work smarter rather than harder. Experience shows that innovative devices are as likely to frustrate users as to make them healthier or more productive. Regular, focused investigations evaluate whether technologies fulfill their practical promises.
Read at The Verge
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