Meta's smart glasses may soon come with controversial facial recognition
What's the story
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, is planning to integrate facial recognition technology into its smart glasses, according to The New York Times. The feature, internally dubbed "Name Tag," would allow users to identify people and gather information about them via Meta's AI assistant. However, this plan has raised concerns over privacy and safety risks associated with the use of such technology.
Strategic rollout
Meta's plans for the 'Name Tag' feature
Meta has been mulling over the launch of this controversial feature since early last year. An internal document seen by The New York Times revealed that the company had initially planned to launch Name Tag at a conference for the blind before making it publicly available. However, those plans were not executed as intended.
Political timing
Strategic timing for potential backlash
The internal document also suggested that the political turmoil in the US could be an opportune time for the launch of this feature. "We will launch during a dynamic political environment where many civil society groups that we would expect to attack us would have their resources focused on other concerns," it read. This strategy highlights Meta's understanding of potential public backlash against such controversial technologies.
Past challenges
Reviving past considerations
Back in 2021, Meta had considered adding facial recognition tech to its first-gen Ray-Ban smart glasses. However, the plans were scrapped due to technical difficulties and ethical concerns. The company has now revived these plans as the political climate has become more aligned with big tech companies and its smart glasses have seen unexpected success in the market.
Market dynamics
Market dynamics and competition
EssilorLuxottica, the company that partners with Meta to manufacture these glasses, revealed that over seven million units were sold last year. However, the market for smart glasses is set to get more competitive with companies like OpenAI working on their own wearable AI devices. To stay ahead of the curve, Meta is looking at facial recognition as a way to enhance its AI assistant's utility in these devices.
User identification
Limitations of the 'Name Tag' feature
The feature would allow users to identify people they know through Meta platforms or those with a public account on a Meta site like Instagram. However, it won't be a universal facial recognition tool that lets you look up anyone you encounter. This careful approach shows that Meta is aware of the potential misuse of such technology and is trying to mitigate it.
Privacy concerns
Meta's history with privacy controversies
Meta has faced several privacy-related controversies in the past. The company settled lawsuits in Illinois and Texas for allegedly harvesting facial data from users without their consent for a now-defunct Facebook facial recognition system. In 2019, Facebook also paid $5 billion to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over a lawsuit that accused it of violating user privacy, including through its facial recognition software.