Inside the AI ​​Memory Machine

Humans are terrible at remembering things. We forget things over time; we don’t remember them in the first place because we’re also not very good at paying attention; we remember things badly because of our innate biases and the way we perceive the world. A lot happens and we don’t store much of it for long.

Maybe AI can fix that. It looks like we’re about to find out. Microsoft, for example, is betting gigantic on Recall, an app that promises to operate AI to collect, store, organize, and re-display everything you do and see on your computer. (Imagine asking your computer, “What was that article about bees I read recently? What was the timeline that was 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 can operate AI to create photo albums and even emotional videos to remember great moments. And companies like Notion and Dropbox are building AI into their own tools to support you find and remember all your appointments and tasks. They all promise the same thing: Don’t worry about remembering things because your computer will do it for you. And it will do it faster and better.

ON this episode Weather forecastWe talk to one of the people who has been working on this problem for a long time: Dan Siroker, CEO Boundless. We talk about what it takes to make a great memory aid, how we can operate it in the future, and why it’s so demanding to do well.

We also talk about the human side of this—what changes in our lives when we stop forgetting things? Is remembering a friend’s birthday different when an AI model actually does it for us? And will these tools ever really work outside of work? Tools like Limitless are emerging and improving rapidly, and we’re going to have to figure out how to live with them.

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