Olivia Weiss Post #11 - Smart Glasses, Looking Toward the Future?

 

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By now most people have heard of those Meta glasses, a thick set of frames that are mostly only distinguishable from regular glasses by the cameras mounted near the hinge. Smart glasses are on the rise, with the biggest retailer out there being a collaboration between Ray-Ban and Meta (yes, as in Mark Zuckerberg). Meta glasses are much more normal looking than the original Google Glass and are said to have much better functionality. But are these smart glasses worth it? Cellphones were once a novelty, and now most people could not imagine a life without them. Are smart glasses going to become the new "must-have technology"?

Let's start with some features. The first feature marketed in Meta glasses is Meta AI, a virtual assistant that uses AI technology to answer questions and complete tasks similar to Siri. Meta glasses also feature a camera, bone-conducting personal speaker, and microphone. You could also use these glasses to make calls, send texts, and live translate conversations. Another model of Meta glasses offer display options with features like live captioning, display control via hand gestures, and general augmented reality. Other brands have other offerings, but Meta has put out the most usable options at this point in time.

On the surface, this is a pretty interesting piece of technology! On top of many of the more novel features like hands-free video calling or asking Meta how tall Cynthia Erivo is, there are some great features that act as accessibility tools, like captioning live conversations and translating speech in real time. If this were to become a popular piece of technology, I could see Meta glasses being the new go-to for GPS navigation with AR directions, sending text messages, and listening to music. They also make AI virtual assistants more discrete and much more readily available, which would likely lead to people using AI even more than they do now.

There are of course some downsides. AI has it's pros and cons, two of the major cons being issues with environmental sustainability and intellectual property. Having access to an AI that just requires you to say "Hey Meta, what's 7+32?" sounds like a great thing, but could have an affect on cognitive thinking skills. By forcing you to pull out your phone and open your calculator to find the answer of 39, you are more incentivized to just do the math in your head. By not flexing that mental muscle, you may experience declining abilities. Additionally, the camera feature poses an issue for privacy. If people don't take the time to really look at your glasses enough to see the cameras, they won't know you have a camera pointed at them at all times. Without their knowledge or consent, you could record them. The same goes for things like movies or theatre, which are not allowed to be filmed. Employees cannot confiscate your glasses, especially if they have a necessary prescription, but how can they be so sure the glasses are turned off?

With the display features, people may find themselves more distracted. One of the major features of the Meta glasses with a display option is that you can scroll reels on Instagram and view them through the lenses. Sounds good in theory, not straining your neck by looking down, virtually hands-free use, etc, but how can we keep users from watching reels while driving? Is it enough of a distraction to cause accidents? While you are still looking forward, you're not focused on the road. 

I think as we move forward and continue to improve smart glasses, better features will become available and they will become more popular in the mainstream. This will have it's positives and it's negatives, and may even require new legislation to improve issues like privacy, piracy, and distractions on the road. While a great piece of technology, we have a ways to go before smart glasses are ready for popular use.