From smart glasses to AI pins, privacy fears challenge tech’s next big bet

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg delivers a speech, as a pair of Ray-Ban smart glasses appear on screen, during the Meta Connect event at the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, California, on Sept. 27, 2023. | REUTERS

REUTERS

Sep 23, 2026

SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK – Companies betting artificial intelligence devices will usher in a post-smartphone era are fueling privacy fears around the globe that could slow adoption of the emerging technology.

The backlash against devices that can see, hear and respond to the world around them has been strongest against Meta’s Ray-Bans, which made smart glasses mainstream by pairing EssilorLuxottica’s trendy designs with AI from the social media giant chasing “personal superintelligence.”

The glasses have become a lightning rod for growing unease over AI-powered devices, drawing scrutiny from courts weighing privacy lawsuits, users fearing covert recordings and critics warning of a future in which ubiquitous AI eyewear erodes expectations of anonymity and consent. Several U.K. venues, including one of the country’s biggest pub chains, Wetherspoon, have restricted the use of the frames.

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