A Tale of Two Perspectives

In my journey with Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses, I’ve noticed a fascinating divide in reactions. On one side, friends, colleagues, and other connections often express concerns about privacy, with many describing the glasses as “creepy” and questioning how I feel about potentially filming people without their knowledge. It’s clear that much of this scepticism comes from a lack of awareness about the built-in privacy features—like the LED light that blinks during video recording or photo capture, and the function that stops recording if the LED is covered.

On the other side, there are experienced users like Rachel Wilkinson, who mentioned the glasses at a recent Popai AI event we both spoke at, and partly inspired me to try them after my time at Connect 24. Their experiences have been overwhelmingly positive, highlighting numerous instances where wearing the glasses was genuinely advantageous, as Meta marketing ads correctly highlight. This contrast raises an interesting question: Is it really the “creepiness” factor holding people back, or is it more about social uncertainty—the discomfort of using something unfamiliar in public?

The Fear of Being “That Person”

I’ve come to believe that the hesitation people have isn’t just about privacy or feeling “watched.” Instead, it’s often the social aspect—the subtle unease that comes from not knowing how others will react. It’s the fear of being “that person” on the train, the one talking to their glasses while curious glances shift in their direction. The technology is here and capable, but what’s holding it back is our own apprehension about how it fits into social settings. If you can step beyond this go buy some, they are great.

AI Updates and the Promise of Enhanced Functionality

The glasses themselves are an investment in the future. With regular updates—including a planned AI boost from Meta this week—the capabilities are continually improving, making the AI assistant more powerful and useful in everyday situations. The feeling I get is that people aren’t inherently afraid of the technology. Instead, it’s the uncertainty of how to navigate social norms while using it. This, I think, mirrors what we’re seeing with AI adoption more broadly: the challenge isn’t that AI is coming to take our jobs, but that those who resist change and refuse to evolve with the technology are at greater risk of job loss. AI isn’t going back in the bottle—it’s here to stay, and to stay relevant, we need to work with it, not against it.

Choosing to Embrace or Resist the Future

The potential of AI glasses and smart devices isn’t about replacing what we have now—it’s about adding another layer of capability, one that could fundamentally enhance our interactions with the world. A thought to end on: for these AI tools to thrive, public trust and understanding must grow over time. Will the first impression of any consumer electronics product soon be based on the brand of AI it contains rather than its shiny exterior hardware? Will this affect how we shop for these products, and what impact will this have on retail environment design? Will we even need sales assistants when smart devices can sell themselves? We’ll unpack that in the next article.