If the thought of AI smart glasses annoys you, you’re not alone.
This week, the judge presiding over a historic social media addiction trial took a harsh stance on the AI-powered gadgets, which many bystanders find invasive of their privacy: Stop recording or face contempt of court. Here’s what you need to know.
What’s happened?
Yesterday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg took the stand in a trial that many industry watchers say could have severe ramifications for social media giants, depending on how it turns out.
At the heart of the trial is the question of whether social media companies like Meta, via its Facebook and Instagram platforms, purposely designed said platforms to be addictive.
Since the trial began, many Big Tech execs have taken the stand to give testimony, and yesterday it was Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s turn.
But while Zuckerberg was there to talk about his legacy products—Facebook and Instagram, particularly—for a brief moment, the presiding judge in the case, Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl, turned her attention to a newer Meta product: the company’s Ray-Ban Meta AI Glasses.
Judge warns AI smart glasses wearers
According to multiple reports, at one point during yesterday’s trial, Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl took a moment to issue a stark warning to anyone wearing AI glasses in the courtroom: stop recording with them and delete the footage, or face contempt.
Many courts generally forbid recording during trials, though there are exceptions. However, while the judge did seem to be worried about recording in general, she also had another concern: the privacy of the jury.
“If your glasses are recording, you must take them off,” the judge said, per the Los Angeles Times. “It is the order of this court that there must be no facial recognition of the jury. If you have done that, you must delete it. This is very serious.”
Currently, Meta’s AI glasses do not include the ability to identify the names of the people a wearer views through them, but that’s not likely what the judge meant in her concerns about “facial recognition.”
Instead, it is likely the judge was concerned that the video recorded by the AI glasses could then be later viewed and run through external facial recognition software to identify the jury in the video.
Some of Meta’s AI glasses can record video clips up to three minutes long.
From reports, it does not appear as if the judge singled out any specific individuals in the courtroom, but CNBC reports that ahead of Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony, members of his team, escorting him into the building, were spotted wearing Meta Ray-Ban artificial intelligence glasses.
As the LA Times reported, the judge’s “admonition was met with silence in the courtroom.”
Broader social concerns over AI glasses
The privacy of jurors is critical for fair and impartial trials, as well as their own safety. Given that, it’s no surprise that the judge did not mince words when warning about AI glasses recording.
But the judge’s courtroom concerns also mirror many people’s broader concerns over AI glasses: People are worried about wearers of the glasses violating their privacy, either by recording them or using facial recognition to identify them.
This concern first became evident more than a decade ago after Google introduced its now-failed smart glasses called Google Glass. Wearers of the device soon became known as “glassholes” due to what many bystanders felt was their intrusive nature.
When talking to a person wearing smart glasses, you can never be sure you aren’t being recorded—and that freaks people out.
That apprehension about smart glasses has not gone away in the years since Google Glass’s demise. Modern smart glasses are much more capable and concealed. At the same time, everyday consumers are more concerned about their privacy than ever.
These privacy concerns will continue to be a major hurdle to AI smart glasses adoption—especially as AI smart glasses manufacturers, including Meta, reportedly plan to add facial recognition features in the future.
Meta’s glasses come with an indicator light that glows when the wearer is recording, although the internet is full of explainers on how to disable it.
The judge’s admonishment of AI glasses wearers in the courtroom yesterday won’t help the devices’ already strained reputation.