A growing number of companies are pitching AI hardware products as a remedy for one of humanity’s oldest weaknesses: forgetfulness.

The latest such product comes from Amazon, whose Bee subsidiary introduced a $75 wristband called the Bee Frontier last month. The band, which looks a little like a screen-free fitness tracker, can record meetings and other conversations using two built-in microphones. Frontier owners can then access transcripts and conversation summaries on their phones or computers.

Amazon is also getting ready to sell a Bee phone accessory to keep track of your calls. The company’s pitch for these devices is that they will help you keep track of the many details that would otherwise fall by the wayside, all while safeguarding your privacy with encryption.

Amazon isn’t the only company looking to capture your work and family conversations. In September, Apple unveiled a new feature called Siri Recap for the latest Apple Watch models that can summarize conversations the watch listens in on. A new smart glasses brand called Vonder wants to keep track of your side of every conversation. And a number of work-centric AI recording devices promise to keep track of all your in-office conversations.

To be sure, these gadgets raise privacy concerns. But beyond the fear that any single conversation may be listened in on, there’s a bigger question to consider with the emergence of such devices: How will human interactions change if every word we utter may get sucked up by an AI-powered microphone, to be preserved for eternity?

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