Google Glass received a lot of negative press after its public release in 2014. The smart glasses were intended to function as a hands-free smartphone. It utilized an optical display in the shape of glasses and was controversial due to potential privacy concerns. Critics claimed the technology could be used with facial recognition software to identify strangers. Combined with Glass’s built-in camera, this technology could be used to record or broadcast private conversations.
What these opponents did not acknowledge is that ubiquitous recording can change lives. Alzheimer’s patients don’t have to be so forgetful. Arguments can be settled before they begin. Politicians can know they’re lying ahead of time. Glass can become a purveyor of truth in an age of misinformation. Over the past several months I have been putting the glasses to the test with great success.
A perfect example happened this past week at work. I share an office with an unfortunately vulgar woman named Darlene. That office troll had the gall to accuse me of “ripping ass”. Thankfully, with the help of Glass, I was able to prove that I wasn’t the one who farted. All I had to do was load up the footage I had recorded in the hours leading up to the incident, cut the footage in Adobe Premiere, export it to a valid file format, upload the file to Youtube, and send the URL in an email. It was clear I had been resting on my left buttock the entire time. Any gas would have flowed the opposite direction and directly out the open door. Being the only other person in the room Darlene had to have done it herself.
While she was too embarrassed to admit I was right, my smart glasses provided me with a court-worthy defense. For the first time scientists will have empirical evidence that “they who smelt it dealt it”. Google Glass is a natural extension of our current privacy reality. If you are in a public place, you are being recorded. Take a chance and bring that into your home. I just might shatter your reality.