Ray-Ban Meta and the Bystander

Short summary

An essay examining the dual nature of AI smart glasses like Ray-Ban Meta: users are both customers and products simultaneously, with the balance shifting minute by minute outside their control. The industry learned from Google Glass's failure that cameras must be invisible, not absent. The result is stylish eyewear that normalizes always-on recording, raising unresolved questions about social consent and intimate data collection.

• •AI smart glasses make users both customer and product in shifting proportions
• •Industry learned from Google Glass to hide cameras, not remove them
• •Privacy LED safeguards are arguably insufficient in real-world conditions

Generated with AI, which can make mistakes.