Cameras on your face
2 days ago, Meta announced their new AI-integrated smart glasses.
They might be the most promising affordable smart glasses to hit the wearable technology market, with potential to democratize access to this technology and bring it to the mainstream.
The value in smart glasses technology has always been the ability to have hands-free access to the internet. So the user can update their knowledge in real-time based on what is in front of them. The challenges continue to vary from designing the tech to be low-profile, stylish, cost-effective, creating clear use cases and also privacy concerns.
The change we're seeing today proves that people are becoming more comfortable with everything being recorded and that people are interested in the convenience wearable technology offers. For people who want to translate audio or visuals in other languages instantaneously. Or for getting help with fixing an appliance. Or for creating a more unique and immersive experience going about your day.
Imagine how smart glasses could help people learn new things. Where a student could get real-time feedback on their work or gain faster access to online educational material. Their teacher could do the same by staying up-to-date on the latest industry trends easier or to learn better teaching skills for individual students.
This has bad implications for security, privacy and abuse. For security and privacy concerns particularly from Meta, but also for fear of information being accessed without our consent by governments or companies. The fear of abuse comes from social and ethical concerns that look like identity theft or stalking.
The middle ground between analog glasses and augmented reality devices is a foot in the door for companies if this takes off. The future of people having cameras and microphones on their faces is a mixed bag. But that's the case with anything new and worth paying attention to.