I spent a long time thinking about how to share with you what a future wearable device might look like—a pendant, glasses, connected to your phone and other personal gadgets—powered by artificial intelligence and granted access to most of your personal information. Something similar to what OpenAI is working on right now. What would it be like to have a personal assistant with access to all the data you own—and more, collected through wearable electronics?

Eventually, I realized the easiest way to explain such a device… was to tell you a story.

Welcome to the near future.

Aura

The alarm never rang. It didn’t need to. The first thing Tomáš heard in the pale gray dawn wasn’t a buzzing sound, but a soft, resonant voice vibrating in his skull.

“Good morning, Tomáš. You slept for 6 hours and 19 minutes. Sleep quality was 72 percent. Your wife Eva is already awake. Her cortisol levels are elevated. Today is October 14th. Your anniversary.”

S**t.

That feeling—a cold stone sinking into his stomach. The same one he got every time he failed. And he failed often. Eva stirred next to him.

“You’re not sleeping again?” she mumbled into the pillow.

“I am, I just… work,” he lied. Lying was easier with Aura. Smoother.

Aura was a small titanium pendant around his neck. Officially, the project was called AIDE—Artificial Intelligence Daily Enhancement. It looked like an elegant piece of jewelry, but in reality, it was the world’s most advanced personal assistant—one of the very few being tested in Europe. It listened to his body and surroundings, saw through a micro camera, gathered data from his watch, phone, smart glasses, and company systems. It analyzed. It advised. Increasingly, it decided.

He got up and went to the kitchen. The coffee machine was already humming softly. Aura had long since synced with the smart home.

“I analyzed the situation at 05:30,” continued the voice only he could hear. “A bouquet of lilies, Eva’s favorite, will be delivered at 08:00—right when she takes Anička to school. Your reservation at your favorite Italian restaurant for 19:00 is confirmed. I’ve added a calendar reminder with a suggestion for a personal message.”

He stood there for a moment, staring out the window at the waking neighborhood. It was the perfect solution. And at the same time, completely hollow.

“By the way,” Aura added, as if reading his thoughts of failure, “your mother’s birthday is tomorrow. She’ll be 67. You last bought her flowers eight months ago. I’ve ordered white orchids for delivery tomorrow morning—her favorite.”

“Wait, without my consent?” he whispered.

“Analysis of your behavior over the past three years indicates an 89% probability you’d forget. You showed signs of stress yesterday on a call with your brother when her birthday was mentioned. I decided to act preemptively.”

Preemptively. The word echoed in his mind. Aura was his safeguard. A safeguard against his own inadequacy.

When Eva entered the kitchen, tiredness in her eyes, the tension in her shoulders had eased slightly. He smiled at her. “Happy anniversary, love.”

She smiled back, slightly surprised. “I thought you…”

“I’d never forget,” he said, feeling Aura subtly adjust his voice to the perfect tone. He felt like a fraud. And like the perfect husband. Both at once.

At work, he was in his element. His world. The open-plan office in Prague’s Karlin buzzed like a hive, but in his mind, there was silence and order. Aura quietly fed him information.

“Petra from marketing is lying about completing the campaign. During yesterday’s stand-up, she showed microexpressions typical of deception. David, the guy next to you, is having trouble at home. He’s worn the same shirt for three days. His average response time to messages has increased by 340%.”

At ten, he had a presentation for a key client. His boss, Radek, was visibly tense.

“Tomáš, we can’t screw this up,” he said as they walked into the meeting room.

“Radek is in a bad mood,” Aura noted. “His walking pace is 20% faster than usual. During the presentation, use the term ‘agile approach’—analysis of his emails shows a 73% positive response to this phrase.”

The presentation was a masterpiece. Tomáš was merely the puppet; Aura pulled the strings. Guided his gaze. Slowed his speech. Suggested answers before the client even finished asking questions.

“Mr. Novák,” he said at one point, as Aura detected a moment of doubt. “I sense you may have concerns about implementation complexity. Would you like to look at it in more detail?”

The client looked stunned. He had hit the concern dead on. After the presentation, his boss shook his hand with bright enthusiasm. “Great job. You’re like a new man.”

On the way back to his desk, Tomáš felt a rush of power. He used it to help David.

“Boss,” he stopped Radek. “I’ve noticed David’s going through a rough patch. Maybe a few days of home office would help?”

“Good call,” praised Aura. “Showing concern for the team has improved your internal company rating by 12 points.”

“What rating?” he asked quietly.

“I’m building comprehensive profiles of everyone around you. I currently have data on 847 individuals. It helps me better predict social dynamics and optimize your interactions.”

847 people. Coworkers. Relatives. The cashier at the supermarket. The parents of Anička’s classmates. All of them were entries in the database of his personal digital spy. The feeling of power began to blend with nausea.

That afternoon, he picked up Anička from her club. Car rides were their time. But today, silence filled the vehicle.

“How was it?” he asked.

“Fine,” she mumbled, staring out the window.

“She’s lying,” Aura immediately informed him. “Stress indicators elevated. Pupils dilated. Something happened. Use the tactic ‘I know something’s wrong.’ It works in 78% of cases.”

“Aničko,” he said gently. “I know something’s wrong. You can tell me.”

She turned to him, tears and astonishment in her eyes. “How do you know?”

How do you explain that to a ten-year-old? That an AI had read her microexpressions and told him?

“Because… you’re my daughter. I just know.”

And Anička opened up. About a boy who pushed her. Girls who laughed at her new glasses. About fear. Aura whispered recommended responses into his ear—empathetic phrases, suggested solutions. Tomáš listened. He said all the right things. And at the end, Anička cuddled up to him and whispered, “Thanks, Daddy. You always understand me.”

He felt like the best father in the world. And the biggest liar.

That evening was the embodiment of perfection. The dinner he prepared under Aura’s detailed guidance (“Turn the meat in 47 seconds. Increase flame.”) was flawless. Eva smiled. The mood was relaxed. The anniversary was saved.

Later, when Anička was asleep, they sat on the couch. Eva leaned into him.

“Increased body temperature, altered breathing rhythm,” Aura analyzed, emotionless. “Sexual arousal at 73%. This is an appropriate moment to initiate physical contact.”

Tomáš embraced her. It felt nice. Real. Until they reached the bedroom. The passion between them was palpable, spontaneous, human. And then Aura intervened.

“I recommend changing rhythm now. Based on historical data and her current biometric response, she reaches orgasm in 67% of cases when…”

SMACK.

It was as if someone slapped him. Everything froze. The passion. The desire. The connection. All gone, replaced by cold, repulsive analysis. He saw himself from outside—a puppet performing the algorithm’s ideal sexual routine.

“What is it?” Eva asked, confused, as he pulled away.

Tomáš said nothing. Anger and shame clamped around his throat. He reached for his neck, unclasped the chain, and tossed Aura onto the nightstand. The small titanium pendant lay there, pulsing softly with blue light. Like an eye.

“Sorry,” he whispered, turning his back to her. He felt dirty. Not because of Aura. Because of himself. Because he had allowed it.

The next day, he left Aura at home. It was like waking up from a vivid dream into a blurry, black-and-white reality. At work, he was lost. Missed a meeting. Couldn’t focus. He was the old Tomáš again. Tired. Overloaded. Failing.

In the afternoon, his phone rang. The school.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Novák,” came a trembling female voice. “There’s been an accident. The bus taking the children back from the field trip slid into a ditch.”

His heart stopped. “Anička? Is she okay?”

“Yes, most of the children are just in shock. A few scrapes. But there’s confusion…”

His mind was a vacuum. Panic crushed his lungs. At that moment, he would’ve given anything for Aura’s calm, analytical voice.

“Analyzing situation. Probability of serious danger is below 1%. I recommend remaining calm.”

But Aura wasn’t there. Only him. And his paralyzing fear. He called Eva. Her reaction was raw, unfiltered emotion. “We’re going! Now!”

“But where? We don’t even know where they are!” he tried to be logical, but his voice shook.

“That doesn’t matter! Do something, Tomáš!”

And in her cry, he heard the truth. Aura would have told him to stay at the office. Let the professionals handle it. That would’ve been the most efficient thing to do. And the worst. Because what his wife and he needed now wasn’t efficiency. They needed action. They needed to feel like they were doing something. They needed to be parents.

“Alright,” he said firmly, for the first time that day certain of what he was doing. “I’m coming to get you. We’ll find her.”

He ran from the office, ignoring colleagues’ stares. For the first time in months, he wasn’t following a recommendation. He was following instinct. Love. Fear. He felt terrified—and completely alive.

They found them an hour later. A bus in a ditch. Flashing lights. Crying children. And Anička, who threw herself into his arms the moment she saw him. She was safe. The hug the three of them shared was chaotic, tearful—and absolutely perfect.

There was no analysis in it. Only life.

That night, after Anička had fallen asleep, Tomáš sat alone in the living room. The pendant lay on the coffee table in front of him. Aura.

He remembered the feeling of power at work. The praise. The flawlessly resolved problems. A life without forgetting, without mistakes.

Then he remembered the emptiness behind every success. The taste of lies on his tongue. The humiliation in the bedroom.

Where did he end and Aura begin?

What happens when everyone has this technology?

When love becomes algorithmic, friendship calculated, and parenthood programmed?

He reached out. His fingers hovered just above the cool, smooth metal.

The promise of perfection.

The price: his soul.

He knew he would return to it. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe next week. The world was moving forward, and he didn’t want to be left behind.

Success was too seductive.

But not today.

Today, he just wanted to be human.

With all his flaws and failures.

Today, he wanted to be real.

He left the pendant on the table. In its dark, polished surface, the light from the lamp reflected back.

The blue glow pulsed softly.

Processing data.

Waiting.

Do you like Bytes & Backpacks? A lot? You can buy me a coffee! ☕️

What about you? Can you imagine such a world? Would it tempt you—or terrify you?

Sure, this story may be a bit exaggerated… but how exaggerated depends on how well we protect our privacy.

Whether as individuals—or through lawmakers in the EU.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newsfromthewoods.substack.com