Big Brains How Wearable Tech Will Heighten Our Senses and Abilities, with Pedro Lopes
Nov 24, 2025
Pedro Lopes, an associate professor at the University of Chicago and director of the Human-Computer Integration Lab, dives deep into the future of wearable technology. He explores how devices could reshape human abilities, from teaching musical skills through electrical muscle stimulation to transforming our senses with haptics. Lopes discusses the ethical implications of integrating tech into our bodies and how these innovations might redefine what it means to be human, challenging our perceptions of agency and augmentation.
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Computing Moves From Desks To Skin
- Computing evolved from batch punch cards to instant, body-adjacent devices like smartwatches.
- Pedro Lopes frames the next step as computers becoming smaller and more intimate with our bodies.
From Interaction To Integration
- Lopes shifts 'interaction' to 'integration' to highlight blurring boundaries between body and computer.
- Integration means devices may feel like new parts of our bodies rather than external tools.
Haptics: Skin-Side Communication
- Haptics are tactile sensations felt through skin, covering forces, texture, and pressure.
- Lopes argues haptics are underused and could let computers 'talk back' to our bodies beyond vibration alerts.