Investigation into new Meta smart glasses brings privacy concerns

[Karah Rucker]

HUNDREDS OF PHOTOS WERE SNAPPED OF PEOPLE IN PARKS, ON TRAINS, AND ON HIKING TRAILS – WITHOUT ANYONE NOTICING.

THE PICTURES WEREN’T TAKEN WITH YOUR TYPICAL CAMERA, OR CELL PHONE.

IT WAS THE “NEXT GENERATION RAY-BAN META SMART GLASSES” USED IN AN EXPERIMENT BY NEW YORK TIMES WRITER BRIAN CHEN –

EXPLORING HOW THE BRIGHT-AND-SHINY NEW TECH NOW INTEGRATED WITH LIVESTREAM AND A-I TECHNOLOGY IS RAISING PRIVACY CONCERNS.

[MARK ZUCKERBERG | META CEO]

“Starting in the U.S., you’re going to get this state of the art AI that you can interact with hands free wherever you go.”

MARK ZUCKERBERG POSTED TO INSTAGRAM THIS PAST WEEK A VIDEO SHOWING HOW THE SMART GLASSES CAN HELP YOU TRANSLATE SIGNS.

“hey meta, look and tell me what this meme says in english. Sure, here’s what the image says in english.”

OR…HELP PICK OUT A PAIR OF PANTS TO MATCH YOUR DRESS SHIRT.

“hey meta, look and tell me what pants to wear with this shirt”

BUT BRIAN CHEN POINTS TO **OTHER USES OF THE GLASSES THAT ARE RAISING CONCERNS.

[Karah Rucker]

BY THE END OF THE EXPERIMENT –

CHEN SAID HE WAS “RELIEVED TO REMOVE THE GLASSES” BECAUSE HE “FELT BOTHERED BY THE IMPLICATIONS OF OUR PRIVACY.”

THE GLASSES HAVE A TINY LED LIGHT THAT SHINES FROM THE RIGHT-FRAME TO ALERT PEOPLE THE GLASSES ARE RECORDING.

AND WHEN THE GLASSES TAKE A PHOTO – THERE’S A FLASH.

THERE’S ALSO “TAMPER-DETECTION TECHNOLOGY” TO PREVENT SOMEONE FROM TRYING TO COVER THE LED LIGHT WITH TAPE.

A META SPOKESPERSON SAID PRIVACY WAS “TOP OF MIND” WHEN DESIGNING THE GLASSES. 

[BRIAN CHEN | NYT CONSUMER TECHNOLOGY WRITER]

CHEN SAYS “AS I SHOT 200 PHOTOS AND VIDEOS WITH THE GLASSES IN PUBLIC, NO ONE LOOKED AT THE LED LIGHT OR CONFRONTED ME ABOUT IT. AND WHY WOULD THEY? IT WOULD BE RUDE TO COMMENT ON A STRANGER’S GLASSES, LET ALONE STARE AT THEM.

[BRIAN CHEN | NYT CONSUMER TECHNOLOGY WRITER]

SLEEK, LIGHTWEIGHT, AND SATISFYINGLY HIP, THE META GLASSES BLEND EFFORTLESSLY INTO THE QUOTIDIAN. NO ONE – NOT EVEN MY EDITOR, WHO WAS AWARE I WAS WRITING THIS COLUMN – COULD TELL THEM APART FROM ORDINARY GLASSES, AND EVERYONE WAS BLISSFULLY UNAWARE OF BEING PHOTOGRAPHED.”

[Karah Rucker]

META’S COLLABORATION WITH RAY BAN IS JUST ONE EXAMPLE OF SILICON VALLEY’S TECH GIANTS TAPPING INTO NEW PRODUCTS THAT SHIFT WHAT CONSUMERS DO WITH THEIR PHONES AND COMPUTERS TO A MORE UP-CLOSE AND PERSONAL EXPERIENCE – THAT IS NOW ALSO **INTERACTIVE – WITH THE HELP OF A-I.

AND ACCORDING TO CHEN –

SOMEONE COULD BE PART OF THAT EXPERIENCE TOO –

IF THEY FAIL TO SEE THE LED LIGHT SHINING FROM THE RIM OF A STRANGER’S GLASSES.