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'Pervert glasses': Backlash against Meta's smart glasses grows

seattletimes.com

61–70 of 280 posts

Re: 'Pervert glasses': Backlash against Meta's smart glasses grows

#61
Meta should use their Kylie Jenner et al connection to design a camera that is both stylish and obvious.

AFAICT the main use case for camera glasses is very similar to the "gopro on your helmet" use case for cyclists:

- to record cool first-person video to upload to TikTok et al

- to warn cars / creeps "I'm recording this and will send footage to the cops"

AFAICT, influencers generally want people to know they're influencers. They're using meta glasses not because the glasses let them go incognito, they're wearing them because a gopro on a helmet is dorky.

And obviously an incognito camera is going to be much less useful staving off harassment than an obvious one.

Re: 'Pervert glasses': Backlash against Meta's smart glasses grows

#62
post #26

Our idea of a public/private privacy division where private recording is discouraged and public is a free for all really feels dated. I know personally I'd love to see a private/local/wide distribution division or something like that where simply going outside to get groceries or whatever doesn't count as consent to be plastered across the net. There are real harms to being a public figure and the net rarely understa…

There's a lot of copyright and other rights management that can be applied. Many buildings are copyrighted. If you take a picture of a building, which you are free to do, you cannot make money from that image just because you took it while being in the open public. The same should be applicable to people as well. Yes, you took a picture of them while in public, but they people still own the rights to the likeness. If…

> Many buildings are copyrighted

Well, let me stop you right there. That's the bit that needs fixing.

Re: 'Pervert glasses': Backlash against Meta's smart glasses grows

#63

The backlash on these is entirely about the fact that they are unfashionable looking. The previous RayBan Metas were very popular and no one had a problem with them. Then Zuck wanted to put in an LCD display so he made them chunkier and they don't look as cool. So people are retroactively coming up with objections to the technology. Nobody cared when the glasses looked good!

I did not like the original RayBan ones for the same creepy reason of recording people without consent. I am at least one person, I'm sure there were others.

Re: 'Pervert glasses': Backlash against Meta's smart glasses grows

#64

Tech is so frustrating in real life. I feel like we have all the cool sci fi stuff I always wanted, but everything comes with a monkey's paw style gotcha. The idea of meta glasses is so awesome, I want a heads up display to show me whatever I want. But there is no way in hell I would use them because the company that makes it can’t be trusted.

Why do you want this? I honestly think we’ve completely forgotten how to be present and notice the real world without the idea of augmenting it.

I'm not the person that you're replying to, but:

It can be less intrusive than using a phone, I believe. That makes it a step closer to being present. (I don't know specifics, but I'm assuming that the display can be turned off when not in use.)

Also, if someone already wears glasses, why not have glasses that can do more?

Re: 'Pervert glasses': Backlash against Meta's smart glasses grows

#65
post #31

I hope one of these companies pulls off a compelling set of glasses with a display and no camera.

It won't matter. People will assume it has a camera. The product category is most likely (and rather predictably) dead if it depends on people wearing them ubiquitously and in public.

Nah. If there's no obvious lenses, people won't assume that.

Re: 'Pervert glasses': Backlash against Meta's smart glasses grows

#66

I hope one of these companies pulls off a compelling set of glasses with a display and no camera.

The product you describe would have very limited use. The full HUD of realtime information absolutely has benefits for the real world, but of course it will be used for things people would subvert for a more malevolent purpose. There's no avoiding that. Does the malevolent use out weight the beneficial use to the point the product should never be allowed?

Re: 'Pervert glasses': Backlash against Meta's smart glasses grows

#67

I do think its a bit odd to automatically and "obviously" default to the idea that people will be using these to be perverts. Its a bit strange of a default assumption to me. Although its even more disheartening that most people's reactions to just about anything these days is dread about how it'll make their lives worse without fail.

> its even more disheartening that most people's reactions to just about anything these days is dread about how it'll make their lives worse without fail.

Maybe because most (tech) things do make most people's live worse without fail (such as these glasses being available)? I don't see how you can blame people for a very rational reaction here

Re: 'Pervert glasses': Backlash against Meta's smart glasses grows

#68
> Gaby Luisa was standing outside a dance club in Arizona earlier this summer when a man wearing glasses threw out a pickup line.

“Did I just run into my future wife?” he asked.

She politely let him know she wasn’t interested and moved on with her evening.

She was shocked to find out later that their interaction was recorded and posted on YouTube without her knowledge or permission, using smart glasses which, she said, looked like Meta’s glasses.

Goddamn this wild. Maybe tell people you’re recording and later plan to upload to YouTube?

Re: 'Pervert glasses': Backlash against Meta's smart glasses grows

#69

Tech is so frustrating in real life. I feel like we have all the cool sci fi stuff I always wanted, but everything comes with a monkey's paw style gotcha. The idea of meta glasses is so awesome, I want a heads up display to show me whatever I want. But there is no way in hell I would use them because the company that makes it can’t be trusted.

> I would use them because the company that makes it can’t be trusted. I think this gets at only half of the problem. Not only can meta not be trusted, even if I trust _you_ if you were friend, I wouldn't trust any _other_ random user of such a product. As such, better to not have such a product around.

I think I agree with this sentiment most. I am having trouble articulating it. I think wearing smart glasses in some situations is on a scale between rude, offensive, and wrong. I think that's what culture teaches us about what is and what isn't acceptable behavior, right? Like some places teach us it's rude to speak over each-other. Here in New England it is rude not to.

I am 100% on board with calling smart glasses "Pervert glasses" if worn in situations that call for it

Re: 'Pervert glasses': Backlash against Meta's smart glasses grows

#70

Tech is so frustrating in real life. I feel like we have all the cool sci fi stuff I always wanted, but everything comes with a monkey's paw style gotcha. The idea of meta glasses is so awesome, I want a heads up display to show me whatever I want. But there is no way in hell I would use them because the company that makes it can’t be trusted.

Startup idea: customers give you their Meta glasses, you smash the camera and microphone (with a tiny sledge hammer), and wrap most of the glasses and particularly where mic/camera would have been in a special casing with a very unique and patented design you also make a huge fuss on social media about, so everybody knows it.

The wrapper is hard/impossible to remove, only the company can trigger the self-release mechanism, and customers have to sign that they owe you a lot of money when they remove or damage it (which is risky, so they have to be careful or it's their problem). You basically just rent it to them, for lots of money per month, so they can show off their Good Guy Glasses (hey that's actually a name! can I have 10% please if anyone does this, I'll also help out if you want, maybe with the tiny sledge hammer. thanks!).

"Oh, you can afford Meta glasses to be a perv? Well, I can't afford the equivalent of a bunch of them every year, but I still do it because I'm a good person."

The ad could be some street kid in the rain with some guy (Morgan Freeman maybe) offering to sell it these glasses, saying "you can pay in tiny rates" and whatnot, and the kid just sadly shakes its head.. so the guy goes down on one knee, eye to eye with the kid and says... "When I was your age, I thought everything is about money, too. But some things are about being a good person. If you had a mommy, surely she would want you to be a good person, right?" The kid nods, still hesitates, but by the way the music swells as the ad fades you just know it's gonna be alright.

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