Harvard Duo Hacks Meta Glasses to Identify Strangers. Two Harvard University students have successfully modified Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses to incorporate facial recognition technology. Raising serious concerns about privacy and surveillance. The modification allows the glasses to identify strangers in public spaces by scanning their faces and matching them against a database. Highlighting the potential risks of widespread, unregulated facial recognition.
The students, part of a university research project. Demonstrated how they could easily add a facial recognition system to the smart glasses. Which originally come equipped with cameras and built-in recording features. By linking the glasses to an existing facial recognition database. They were able to identify people in real time without their consent. Sparking alarm among privacy advocates and civil rights groups.
Moreover, Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses, launched in partnership with Ray-Ban in 2021. Were designed primarily for hands-free photo and video capture, phone calls, and listening to music. However, this experiment shows how the product’s capabilities can be expanded in ways that pose significant ethical and legal challenges.
However, the students’ project has sparked a broader debate about the future of wearable technology and the potential misuse of such devices. Critics warn that integrating facial recognition software into smart glasses could lead to mass surveillance. However, enabling users to track and identify individuals in public without their knowledge, eroding personal privacy in everyday life.
In response, privacy experts have called for stricter regulations and safeguards to prevent such technologies from being misused. Some have also urged tech companies like Meta to implement more robust security measures that would make it harder for third parties to modify devices in ways that could violate privacy.
Moreover, Meta has yet to comment on the students’ findings but has faced criticism in the past over privacy issues tied to its products. As wearable tech continues to evolve, this incident highlights the importance of addressing privacy concerns before such technologies become commonplace.
