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Two students at Harvard University modified a set of Meta Ray-Ban Smart Glasses to add AI-based facial recognition technology, and the result is a wearable that is able to identify people in real time, according to a report from 404 Media.

meta-ray-ban.jpg

The modified Meta Glasses are able to use the camera to scan a stranger's face to get their name, and there's also a function for pulling information like home address, phone number, and family members from internet sites that store that kind of data.

AnhPhu Nguyen and Caine Ardayfio, the creators, demonstrated the glasses in public. Ardayfio walked up to a total stranger, scanned her face, got her name and affiliations, and then pretended that he knew her from one of the organizations that came up in a search about her. In a second demo, Nguyen identified a random man and initiated a conversation, pretending to have read his work based on what the glasses surfaced.


The Meta Glasses were set up to stream video directly to Instagram, and a computer program monitors the stream. AI determines when a face is detected, and then an internet search is conducted to find more pictures of the person. From there, online articles, voter registration databases, and other public information is used to suss out a name, phone number, address, and relative's names. Everything happens in a couple of minutes, and it's fed back to a smartphone app.

Dozens of Harvard students were identified and they were never aware that AI face scans had been used to suss out their names and information about them. Nguyen said that the project is meant to raise awareness of what can be done with today's consumer technology, face search engines, LLMs, and public databases. The two creators have no plans to release any kind of product or code.

Nguyen and Ardayfio chose the Meta Ray-Ban Glasses because "they look almost indistinguishable from regular glasses," making them ideal for surreptitious image capture. Reverse facial recognition was used to match faces to publicly available images, and PimEyes, a face recognition search engine, was identified as the "most effective" way to find people. An LLM was used to look up details about a person across the web, and FastPeopleSearch provided additional information. The entire setup is automatic, thanks to LLMs.

Meta's Ray-Ban Glasses are simple in design and are primarily focused on taking images, but even that limited hardware is enough to generate detailed information about a person almost instantly. With a faster processor, on-device AI capabilities, better camera technology, and augmented reality, future products could do even more.

In response to the report, Meta told 404 Media that PimEyes facial recognition can be used with any camera, and it's not something that is "only possible because of Meta Ray-Bans." That is true, but the Meta Ray-Bans look like a standard pair of glasses, and many people aren't aware when the glasses are being used to take photos. PimEyes said that it found the report "quite surprising" because its search engine is "not designed to identify individuals, either directly or indirectly."

Article Link: Students Add Facial Recognition to Meta Smart Glasses to Identify Strangers in Real-Time
 
As much as I hate to give Meta credit for anything, THIS is how you do an AR wearable, not the Apple Vision Pro. A wearable that looks like a “normal” non-tech item, that unobtrusively adds smart functionality.

There was a Sci Fi podcast that talked about a near future where AR glasses were the norm… I’ll come back with a link. EDIT Season 2 of “Dust” -

 
"Nguyen said that the project is meant to raise awareness of what can be done with today's consumer technology, face search engines, LLMs, and public databases. The two creators have no plans to release any kind of product or code." Well, let's see if their technology remains private.... Well that didn't last long.
 
As much as I hate to give Meta credit for anything, THIS is how you do an AR wearable, not the Apple Vision Pro. A wearable that looks like a “normal” non-tech item, that unobtrusively adds smart functionality.

There was a Sci Fi podcast that talked about a near future where AR glasses were the norm… I’ll come back with a link.
That is what Meta is trying to do. You can see that with the recently released video of their AR glasses. There is a lot of tech and battery for them to completely look like normal glasses, but you can see that is their goal.
 
All this AI/technolgy stuff is pure evil and satanic. In the wrong hands, it will definitely be used against us. Especially when big brother gets a hold of it. This stuff is already exists in communist China. Sadly the US is headed the same direction.
 
Stalkers gonna stalk on a whole new level with this.

Scammers gonna scam out of control with this.

This will also be used to track you in public, via other people's devices. If you want to live a private life, you will constantly have to wear a mask. Governments are already doing this, but just wait until the government demands access to all of these real-time feeds, because "This foundational technology can be used to identify missing children." Meanwhile they actually use it to track and/or suppress those of us who are not in alignment with their goals.
 
When I read the headline I imagined a feature that would remind me of acquaintances so I could be friendly and ask them about their kids, etc. Then I read the article and realized not everyone has such nice intentions.
 
Stalkers gonna stalk on a whole new level with this.

Scammers gonna scam out of control with this.

This will also be used to track you in public, via other people's devices. If you want to live a private life, you will constantly have to wear a mask. Governments are already doing this, but just wait until the government demands access to all of these real-time feeds, because "This foundational technology can be used to identify missing children." Meanwhile they actually use it to track and/or suppress those of us who are not in alignment with their goals.
Less worried about the government than just random monsters out there.
 
Great. Wonder if Congress will actually do something about this within the next decade.
 
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As much as I hate to give Meta credit for anything, THIS is how you do an AR wearable, not the Apple Vision Pro. A wearable that looks like a “normal” non-tech item, that unobtrusively adds smart functionality.

Meta Ray-Bans aren't an "AR wearable." They have a camera, a mic, and some speakers; no display whatsoever. Meta's actual AR wearable, Orion, isn't available for purchase (and never will be), costs $10k to manufacture, requires a separate computer to function, and lasts ~2 hours.
 
That is what Meta is trying to do. You can see that with the recently released video of their AR glasses. There is a lot of tech and battery for them to completely look like normal glasses, but you can see that is their goal.

Yeah all Meta has to do is make them substantially smaller and 1/10th the price while cramming all the computing and battery power into the frames and we're there!
 
As much as I hate to give Meta credit for anything, THIS is how you do an AR wearable, not the Apple Vision Pro. A wearable that looks like a “normal” non-tech item, that unobtrusively adds smart functionality.

There was a Sci Fi podcast that talked about a near future where AR glasses were the norm… I’ll come back with a link. EDIT Season 2 of “Dust” -

Vision Pro is both AR/VR. The immersion it provides makes a huge difference. If you need glasses that provide information overlayed on top of what you are looking at, then the Vision Pro is not what you need.
 
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