Meta reportedly wants to add facial recognition to smart glasses while distracting privacy advocates

Meta aims to introduce facial recognition technology into its smart glasses while distracting its biggest critics, according to a report. Report from New York Times. In an internal document reviewed by The timesMeta says it will launch the feature “during a dynamic political environment where many of the civil society groups we expect to attack us are focusing their resources on other concerns.”

The document dates back to last May, and is said to describe a new “name tag” feature that will allow smart glasses wearers to identify people using Meta’s built-in AI assistant. New York Times Reports indicate that Meta initially planned to launch the feature during a blind conference before launching it more widely, but that never worked out. Meta Company, which manufactures smart glasses With Ray Ban and OakleyHe is said to be planning to launch the feature as soon as this year.

Sources say The times Facial recognition technology will not allow people to recognize everyone they see. Instead, Meta is said to be considering using the feature to discover people the wearer is connected to on one of Meta’s platforms. It is also exploring “identifying people a user may not know but who have a public account on a meta site like Instagram,” according to New York Times.

We’ve already gotten an idea of ​​what the future might look like with facial recognition technology on Meta glasses. In 2024, two Harvard students Developed a project that allows Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses wearers can recognize people’s faces and use public databases to find names, addresses, phone numbers and relatives.

Features that identify someone by their face can be useful for people who are blind or visually impaired, but connecting them to a broader social network or database could pose serious security risks. A A company called Envision has partnered with Solos to launch a pair of glasses that use artificial intelligence to help blind or visually impaired users recognize other people — but only after the wearer takes a photo of them and assigns them a name from within its app. According to the Envision website.

“We build products that help millions of people connect and enrich their lives,” Erin Logan, a Meta spokeswoman, said in a statement. Edge. “While we’re hearing a lot about interest in this type of feature — and some products are already on the market — we’re still considering the options and will take a measured approach if and when we launch anything.”