Privacy Concerns Grow As AI-Powered Meta Glasses Can Dox Strangers
In a controversial demonstration of Meta’s smart glasses, two Harvard students have shown how the technology can be used to collect personal information about people simply by looking at them. The students, AnhPhu Nguyen and Caine Ardayfio, modified the glasses — called I-XRAY — to use facial recognition and artificial intelligence to automatically pull up personal details such as home addresses, contact information, and even partial social security numbers.
The AI-powered system uses a large language model (LLM) to scan the internet, identifying individuals by comparing images and retrieving data from public sources. This innovation has raised significant privacy concerns, as it enables the wearer to gather sensitive information without the subject’s knowledge or consent.
Privacy advocates are worried that this type of technology could be abused, leading to identity theft, stalking, or other privacy violations. The fact that someone’s personal data can be accessed so easily highlights the need for stronger protections in the digital age.
Nguyen and Ardayfio argue that people should take proactive steps to safeguard their privacy, including opting out of online databases and reverse image search engines. However, critics believe this may not be enough given the rapid advancement of AI technologies.
As tools like these glasses become more common, there are increasing calls for stricter privacy laws to protect individuals from having their personal information exposed. The balance between technological innovation and privacy protection will continue to be a major issue as AI becomes further embedded in everyday life.
