Meta's Smart Glasses Raise Privacy Concerns

Meta's latest smart glasses prototype has sparked concerns over privacy as it continuously records the wearer's surroundings. The 'super sensing' feature takes photos every few seconds and records ambient audio, allowing the user to leverage AI to query their surroundings. However, the company is considering not activating the LED indicator when this feature is on, making it difficult for bystanders to know they are being recorded.

This development comes as Meta has fixed a privacy issue with its existing Ray-Ban smart glasses, where bad actors were modifying the glasses to disable the privacy light. The new prototype's features could be activated on Meta's existing glasses via a software update, sparking concerns over civil liberty and privacy risks.

The use of always-on devices has raised concerns among privacy experts, who argue that it could violate data privacy. The EU is likely to scrutinize the technology, given its strict data protection regulations. Meta is also discussing using data collected through the glasses to train its own AI models, as it competes with OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic in the AI race.