Smart glasses today can record from a first-person perspective, translate in real time, and with the help of artificial intelligence, analyze the space we are in.

They are no longer a technology of the future, but a device being sold in millions of units worldwide. While tech companies announce a revolution, there are increasing questions about what these glasses actually record and how much privacy users really have left.

With the latest generations of these devices, it is possible to correspond without touching a mobile phone, translate conversations on the go, or obtain information about objects and places in the environment.

For example, a user can look at a rock, building, or object and immediately receive information about what they are seeing. However, these very capabilities have also opened up serious security and ethical dilemmas.

Face recognition has caused the greatest concern

There is particular concern about the possibility of connecting smart glasses with face recognition software.

This practically means that a person can walk down the street while the system in real time identifies people whose image the camera captures and displays their data available on the internet or social networks.

The most well-known and most commercial product on the market currently is Meta Ray-Ban glasses, but Meta itself is followed by serious controversies.

According to claims from an investigation, workers hired in Kenya reviewed private recordings of users, including banking data and intimate content. The employees themselves told Swedish media that they watched users going to the toilet or having intimate relations.

Less than two months after those claims, Meta ended its partnership with the company that performed that work, resulting in the layoff of more than a thousand workers. The company stated that it takes the accusations seriously and that AI content is reviewed to improve user experience.

European politicians demand answers

Because of all this, European lawmakers reacted, asking the European Commission for an explanation of how it plans to respond to claims that Meta glasses can record users in intimate situations without their knowledge.

Additional concern is raised by expert claims that certain models can record sound and data even when the user thinks they are only taking a photograph.

- Meta glasses, for example, while you are taking a photograph can simultaneously record audio and send data to servers. Most users are not aware of what all is happening in the background when they activate the device - warns the source in the text.

He also claims that during certain tests, models were discovered that activate without the user's knowledge.

- We are facing the problem of recording third parties and intimate situations without consent - the source stated.

Glasses that "see" even when they are not turned on

The source warns that with certain models, it is not even necessary to activate the glasses for them to record what is happening in their surroundings.

- Certain models can do this, although there is no confirmed data that Meta glasses do exactly that - he clarified.

A particular problem is the fact that users often accept the terms of use without reading them.

- We all click "Agree", but few of us read what we are actually agreeing to. Meta glasses have an automatically enabled option to use data for training the company's AI systems - warns the source.

Technology can help the blind, but also track people

Smart glasses are already being used as an aid for blind and visually impaired people, for describing the environment or reading text in real time.

However, the greatest concern is raised by the possibility of their use for identifying people in everyday situations.

As an example, a project by Harvard students is cited, who demonstrated how a person can be identified almost instantly using these devices and commercial software.

- Nothing was hacked. Meta glasses were simply connected to commercially purchased face recognition software - explained the source.

A similar experiment was conducted at a conference in San Francisco, where a cybersecurity expert in real time received data about people he met – names, social media profiles, and other publicly available information.

- The biggest problem is not in the glasses themselves, but in the fact that you can connect them to biometric identification systems. Even without hacking, the system can completely normally perform face recognition - warns the source, as reported by RTCG.