On New Year’s Day, a tragic incident unfolded in New Orleans when a man drove a truck into a crowd, resulting in 14 fatalities. The FBI revealed that the perpetrator, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, had meticulously planned the attack, using Meta smart glasses to scout the French Quarter on October 31st. He recorded video of the area while cycling, effectively mapping out his assault. While Jabbar wore the glasses during the attack itself, he did not activate the livestreaming function. Meta, the parent company of Facebook, declined to comment on the incident.
These glasses, a collaboration between Meta and Ray-Ban, are equipped with a camera, speakers, and AI, controllable via voice, buttons, and gestures. Certain features, like music playback and interaction with Meta’s AI assistant, require a phone connection or internet access. Unlike some augmented reality glasses, these lack a built-in display. However, Meta is developing glasses with holographic capabilities.
The glasses’ primary appeal lies in their ability to capture photos and videos, directly uploading them to Instagram or Facebook. Livestreaming is also possible, but only to compatible Meta platforms. Additional features include audio and video calling, messaging, and music playback. The camera integrates with Meta’s AI assistant, enabling real-time text translation (either spoken or displayed on a paired phone) and basic location-based queries. The hands-free design facilitates voice interaction.
However, the glasses currently have limitations. Complex tasks, such as restaurant reservations or turn-by-turn navigation, are not supported. The absence of a lens display means there’s no viewfinder for image composition. Importantly, a built-in LED indicator notifies bystanders when the camera is active, and this feature cannot be disabled, according to Meta.