New App Combines Smart Glasses, AI, and Facial Recognition to Access Personal Data in Real-Time

A team of entrepreneurs in South Bend, Indiana, has developed an app combining Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses, ChatGPT, and facial recognition technology, allowing users to retrieve detailed information about strangers by merely looking at them. The development follows similar experiments at Harvard University that raised significant privacy concerns about combining smart glasses with facial recognition capabilities.

Kris Peterson, an entrepreneur and member of the app development team, demonstrated the technology, which leverages small cameras on the glasses to capture data and provide instant personal insights. The system builds upon Meta’s recent advances in AI infrastructure and facial recognition capabilities. By speaking into a smartphone connected to the glasses, users can access information such as names, social connections, and even past events involving the person in view.

The app’s capabilities raise significant ethical concerns, particularly given that Indiana currently lacks comprehensive regulations governing facial recognition technology use in private applications. According to Peterson, “It all comes down to a moral boundary,” acknowledging the need to consider what information should be accessible. During a demonstration for a local news outlet, the app identified the reporter’s name, his mother’s name, and a past speaking event he attended, while also demonstrating the ability to manipulate smartphone settings through facial recognition alone.

The development team plans to conduct initial testing in Rabbit Hash, Kentucky—a town of 254 residents—before considering wider deployment. This controlled trial aims to assess both technical functionality and social impact, particularly given recent legislative discussions around biometric surveillance in other jurisdictions.

The app’s development coincides with growing scrutiny of facial recognition applications, as demonstrated by recent debates over law enforcement use of such technology. By positioning the app as a “personal assistant” powered by collective data, Peterson suggested that it represents a shift towards a “hive mind” model of shared knowledge, though privacy advocates may question the implications of such widespread data access.

Sources: WSBT

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November 1, 2024 – by Cass Kennedy