alt Hacker News> There are two claims you're making 1) they're rarely used 2) when they are it's nefarious
I'm not making any claims, just sharing my observation. The claim I'm reacting to is that "they're totally used by normal people now!" and my observation is that I personally don't know anyone in my fairly tech-savvy peer group who has even uttered their name, and the only time I have heard of them outside their marketing is over-the-top creepy.
It's not helping their case that if you google "meta glasses recording light" you find "Adjustable LED Light Blocking Covers for RayBan Meta Wayfarer" in the top-of-the-fold hits[1]. Clearly being a creep with the glasses is popular enough to create a whole cottage industry.
[1] https://www.amazon.com/Adjustable-Headliner-Accessories-Reco...
> I'm not making any claims... Clearly being a creep with the glasses is popular enough to create a whole cottage industry.
I think this is pretty much a claim. But in any case, it's not unique to smart glasses. Smartphones also have this problem, which is why they're legally required to make an audible shutter noise in many jurisdictions. And unlike glasses that power on when unfolded and worn on the face, phones and other types of devices can be much more discreet.
You can address AR glasses by changing the laws - Québec has uniquely strong privacy laws against photographing people, even in public places. The rest of Canada and the US have much weaker protections in this area.
You can also change the regulations for the companies that produce the devices. The Ray Ban Metas will not function if the light is tampered with, but clearly there is a cat and mouse game where people temporarily evade those restrictions until they're tightened again. It's obviously not in Meta's interest to allow people do this. But a comparison will inevitably play out as the tech is commoditized and people find off-brand alternates in the back of Shenzen markets.
New technology will bring much bigger challenges than smart glasses. A few I worry about are every conversation being recorded and transcribed by personal AIs (with ultra discreet devices), and the authenticity of audio, video, or image content may one day be unproveable (in which case every recorded corruption scandal becomes a plausible denial).
The article's claim, however, is that we're starting to find off-ramps to many one or two-player marketplaces, and the domain that the meta Ray bans operate within will be one of those (in the interim we should probably be thankful it's not just another Apple product, and that they actually have to play catch up. A weaker Apple will have to treat consumers and partners better). The article's point is that the future of tech looks fun, and should provide consumers with more choices.
Sure, the side effects of future tech could be very bad, but that'd be the case whether or not the points in the article are true.