Season 2 Episode 11: Is AI & Wearable Technology The Future of Fashion?

Ashley, also known as Ash, connects AI, wearables, and fashion in a conversation about technology people might use throughout an ordinary day. That setting changes the design challenge. A device can be technically interesting and still be uncomfortable, inconvenient, or difficult to interpret.

Consider a wearable that collects a signal and presents a personalized insight. The experience includes the sensor, the interpretation, the display, and the person's response. A failure at any stage can change what the information means to the user.

Design the day around the device#

Imagine wearing it through commuting, working, exercising, washing, and sleeping. When does it need charging? When might it lose contact or miss information? Does an alert explain its uncertainty, or does it sound more definite than the evidence permits?

Questions about health-related outputs deserve particular care. A person may interpret a reassuring or alarming message very differently from a casual activity estimate. The product's claims need to match the evidence supporting them, and its interface should make its intended use understandable.

Fashion adds another dimension: people choose objects partly because of how those objects express identity. A wearable must reconcile appearance, comfort, usefulness, and the handling of personal information. Watch with one specific wearer in mind. Their daily routine may reveal more about a promising design than a list of advanced features.

Original episode on YouTube.