Always On

I have mixed feelings about a pair of eye glasses being able to recall a bunch of detail about someone I am meeting again. There are people it could help but that assistance is fraught with peril.

 Although the company claims to use secure, local processing and abstraction of user data, the glasses have microphones, cameras, and sensors that constantly capture audio and visual inputs. If there are flaws in data protection or vulnerabilities, users’ private conversations, locations, and routines could be exposed or misused. The risk of hacking, unauthorized data access, or third-party tracking cannot be entirely ruled out, especially since the system is open-source and theoretically modifiable.

The presence of inconspicuous recording devices in daily interactions may cause discomfort or distrust in social situations. Friends, colleagues, or strangers might feel uneasy not knowing if they’re being recorded or analyzed. Additionally, voice-generated custom apps could be manipulated for malicious purposes, depending on how permissions and sharing are managed. 

This always being recorded, transcribe and analyzed is already a thing in the workplace where it is completely okay for all calls to be recorded and transcribed by default and use the text summaries in a variety of different ways. It is not a given everyone is comfortable and yet more unclear is what people choose to say or not say when they know that a transcript will live on. The best way to know your coworkers is still the happy hour but with such technology that may soon become a thing of the past.