Joanna Stern: Wearable AI devices have fallen short, the enduring role of smartphones in our lives, and the psychological effects of AI on human behavior | Big Technology

AI's role in education highlights the importance of skepticism and critical thinking for future generations.

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Add us on Google by Editorial Team May. 13, 2026

Key takeaways

• Wearable AI devices have not yet fulfilled their promise for the average user.
• Large language models and AI assistants are crucial for enhancing ambient computing.
• The phone remains a central device, but some tasks should be separated from it.
• Interacting with AI on a phone can be cumbersome due to distractions.
• The human experience of not knowing is valuable, contrasting with AI’s role in education.
• AI often provides incorrect information, teaching children to be skeptical.
• Apple’s decision to avoid foundational AI models may not impact its user base.
• New spatial computing devices are unlikely to significantly impact smartphone sales.
• Interactions with AI can affect our behavior and habits.
• AI interactions may influence our behavior towards other humans.
• The promise of ambient computing requires more than just AI advancements.
• The evolution of technology shows that new devices complement rather than replace existing ones.
• User experiences with AI on phones highlight areas for future innovation.
• Critical thinking is essential when using AI, especially in education.
• Apple’s strategy in AI integration reflects its market positioning.

Guest intro

Joanna Stern is the founder of New Things, a consumer-tech media company focused on helping people navigate AI and technology. She is the author of “I Am Not a Robot: My Year Using AI to Do (Almost) Everything,” based on her year-long experiment infusing AI into nearly every aspect of her life. Previously, she was the senior personal technology columnist at The Wall Street Journal for over a decade.

The unfulfilled promise of wearable AI

• The promise of wearable AI devices is still largely unfulfilled for the average person.

  — Joanna Stern

• Wearable AI technology has yet to meet the expectations set by Silicon Valley.

• Yes agreed but I think that there’s a lot of potential in seeing more of this what we this promise of ambient computing… it needs to do something else too.

  — Joanna Stern

• The gap between potential and reality in wearable AI is significant.
• Large language models are key to unlocking ambient computing’s potential.

• I think so much of it does get unlocked by large language models and more of the ai assistants and agents we’re starting to see come online.

  — Joanna Stern

• The practicality of current AI wearables is still in question.
• Advancements in AI can improve wearable device functionality.

The enduring role of smartphones

• The phone is not going away, but we need to separate certain tasks from it.

  — Joanna Stern

• Smartphones remain central despite the rise of new technologies.

• The phone is never going away just like laptops didn’t go away when the phones came and all of our other technology built on each other.

  — Joanna Stern

• Devices complement rather than replace each other.
• Interacting with AI on phones can be cumbersome.

• The experience of interacting with AI on a phone right now kinda sucks in some situations.

  — Joanna Stern

• User pain points highlight areas for innovation in AI and device design.
• The evolution of technology shows the complementary nature of devices.

The human experience of not knowing

• There is a beauty in the human experience of not knowing, which contrasts with the desire to appear knowledgeable to children.

  — Joanna Stern

• The balance between curiosity and AI in education is crucial.

• Isn’t there something beautiful about the human experience of not knowing? There is something beautiful about that experience but then also there’s like this other beautiful experience of showing your kids that you’re really smart.

  — Joanna Stern

• AI’s role in education emphasizes the importance of skepticism.
• AI can provide incorrect information, teaching children to question its outputs.

• My kids learned that a lot this year because AI got so much wrong and they saw that and we had to be like that’s not right obviously AI is not correct in this situation.

  — Joanna Stern

• Critical thinking is essential in today’s technology-driven world.
• The duality of human experience in learning is highlighted.

Apple’s strategic positioning in AI

• Apple’s decision to sit out the foundational model moment may not hurt them significantly.

  — Joanna Stern

• Apple’s strategy reflects its market positioning and consumer behavior.

• I think they’ve done the right thing by sitting out the llm foundational model moment… but is anyone switching to android from the iphone because of this? I don’t think so.

  — Joanna Stern

• The competitive landscape of AI integration in consumer electronics is complex.
• Apple’s user base remains loyal despite its AI strategy.
• The impact of foundational AI models on consumer behavior is limited.
• Apple’s decision reflects a calculated approach to AI integration.

The impact of spatial computing on smartphone sales

• I don’t think the new spatial computing devices will significantly impact smartphone sales.

  — Joanna Stern

• The market dynamics between smartphones and new technologies are evolving.

• I don’t think so and I think I do think the glasses look meta’s been surprised at how how successful those glasses are…

  — Joanna Stern

• Spatial computing devices are not expected to replace smartphones.
• Current trends suggest limited market impact from new technologies.
• Smartphone sales remain robust despite emerging technologies.
• The potential market impact of new technology is grounded in current trends.

The psychological effects of AI interactions

• We should consider the impact of our interactions with AI on our own behavior and habits.

  — Joanna Stern

• Interacting with AI can influence human behavior.

• I don’t think we should strip ourselves out of the equation… I do think that there’s a genuine impact on you and how frustrating that experience feels.

  — Joanna Stern

• Self-awareness is important in AI interactions.
• AI interactions can reflect and affect emotional responses.
• The psychological effects of AI on human behavior are significant.
• Understanding these effects is crucial for healthy AI interactions.

AI’s influence on human relationships

• Interacting with AI can influence our behavior towards other humans.

  — Joanna Stern

• Human-like AI interactions have implications for social behavior.

• I think because the machines are human like and don’t have feelings we can potentially create this pattern that has us start you know kinda being nasty at the machines and potentially that spills over to our person to person interactions.

  — Joanna Stern

• The concern about AI’s impact on relationships is growing.
• AI interactions may lead to changes in social behavior.
• The implications of AI on human relationships are complex.
• Understanding these implications is important for social dynamics.

The potential of ambient computing

• Large language models and AI assistants enhance user experience.

• Large language models and AI assistants are key to unlocking the potential of ambient computing.

  — Joanna Stern

• The promise of ambient computing requires more than AI advancements.
• Wearable devices play a role in ambient computing’s potential.
• Enhancing user experience is crucial for ambient computing.
• The potential of ambient computing is yet to be fully realized.
• AI advancements are key to unlocking this potential.
• The role of AI in ambient computing is significant.

The evolution of technology and device usage

• Devices complement rather than replace each other.

• The phone is never going away just like laptops didn’t go away when the phones came and all of our other technology built on each other.

  — Joanna Stern

• The evolution of technology shows the complementary nature of devices.
• New technologies build on existing ones.
• The role of smartphones remains central despite new technologies.
• The evolution of technology is a continuous process.
• Understanding this evolution is important for future innovations.
• The complementary nature of devices is highlighted.

The importance of critical thinking in education

• AI often provides incorrect information, teaching children to be skeptical.

• My kids learned that a lot this year because AI got so much wrong and they saw that and we had to be like that’s not right obviously AI is not correct in this situation.

  — Joanna Stern

• Critical thinking is essential in today’s technology-driven world.
• The role of AI in education emphasizes the importance of skepticism.
• Teaching children to question and verify information is crucial.
• The importance of critical thinking is highlighted in education.
• AI’s role in education requires a skeptical approach.
• The necessity of critical thinking is emphasized.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.