The Pen: Episodic Cognitive Assistance via an Ear-Worn Interface

TL;DR

This paper introduces The Pen, an ear-worn device designed for episodic, on-demand cognitive assistance that respects user boundaries and enhances social comfort through localized processing and clear activation cues.

Contribution

It presents a novel ear-worn form factor and interaction paradigm supporting episodic AI assistance with explicit start/end boundaries and local processing.

Findings

Layered activation boundaries influence user agency.

Episodic use improves social comfort.

Localized processing enhances privacy and responsiveness.

Abstract

Wearable AI is often designed as always-available, yet continuous availability can conflict with how people work and socialize, creating discomfort around privacy, disruption, and unclear system boundaries. This paper explores episodic use of wearable AI, where assistance is intentionally invoked for short periods of focused activity and set aside when no longer needed, with a form factor that reflects this paradigm of wearing and taking off a device between sessions. We present The Pen, an ear-worn device resembling a pen, for episodic, situated cognitive assistance. The device supports short, on-demand assistance sessions using voice and visual context, with clear start/end boundaries and local processing. We report findings from an exploratory study showing how layered activation boundaries shape users' sense of agency, cognitive flow, and social comfort.