AI smart glasses raise new privacy and safeguarding concerns
Recording features in AI eyewear raise questions about public safeguarding.
AI-powered smart glasses are quietly moving from novelty gadget to mainstream consumer device, and the shift is raising uncomfortable questions about privacy, consent and safeguarding. Models such as the Ray-Ban Meta glasses are now widely available in the UK, offering hands-free video capture, livestreaming and AI-driven features such as object recognition and translation. Yet as functionality expands, scrutiny is growing.
Public concern intensified after a BBC report revealed Meta AI glasses had recorded a woman without her consent. The episode reignited debate over whether existing privacy laws are equipped to deal with wearable devices that can identify, track and analyse people in real time. Unlike smartphones, smart glasses operate discreetly, blurring the line between passive wearables and active recording devices.
Manufacturers insist safeguards are being built in. EssilorLuxottica, which partners on the Meta glasses, says design changes have made recording more visible, including enlarging the camera lens and providing user guidance during setup.
The company says it is exploring further design adjustments, including mechanisms that turn off recording when the lens is covered. Compliance with current regulations, it argues, remains a priority.
Critics, however, believe regulation is lagging behind technological capability. Iain Rice, professor of industrial AI at Birmingham City University, warns that UK privacy frameworks were not designed with real-time AI surveillance tools in mind.
He points to risks including facial recognition integration, automated identity matching and the potential for large-scale deepfake generation using live public footage. While cloud processing enables useful features such as navigation and translation, experts argue that stronger safeguards may be needed, including on-device masking of individuals who have not consented to being recorded. The debate suggests that AI glasses may soon test the limits of existing digital rights frameworks.
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