Who’s Afraid Of Google Glass?

> We’re marching boldly into a panopticon future. I’ve been writing about this for years. And now, suddenly, you’re irate about the potential privacy repercussions of a few geeks bearing glasses? What is wrong with you people? Where have you been?

In the real world, where people doesn't like the idea of being pointed by a video camera all the time. Maybe geeks don't have a problem with antisocial behaviours, but most people do. Video cameras are not new, and they already annoying today for many people.

Also, your life may get fun when people starts being insincere with you because they don't want to get their true opinions recorded. Making jokes about your boss? Talking about someone? Nope, you may show him the video later (heck, you may be streaming it - forget about the blinking red led, it may have been disabled). All that can be already done today with hidden cameras, of course, but it isn't a concern because people assumes that only an asshole would do that. And how will people react when someone learns to hack them to get a secret stream of some girl's glasses?

The breathless enthusiasm for Google Glass among certain circles, and phrases like "wearable, context aware, augmented reality is our future" reminds me of the videophone mania of the 20th century.

The videophone was "just ten years in the future," every year, at least since the 1950s. We were all going to give up voice calls and replace them with video calls, any day now.

In reality, it took over sixty years before practical two-way video calling became commonplace, in the form of things like Skype or FaceTime. Even now, video calls are by and large relegated to fairly specific work purposes and a fraction of personal communications.

Something like Google Glass will be a reality at some point. What's not going to happen, though, is a world with everyone walking around wearing head-mounted augmented reality gear everywhere they go in some Vernor Vinge-inspired nootopia. At least not in this decade. I'm sure it's "just ten years away," though.

I think in general we all might be underestimating the social stigma that is going to come from being the guy walking around in public recording strangers. The examples in the article (e.g. drones) are tolerated because (a) people aren't aware its happening to them, and (b) that type of surveillance is usually limited to certain classes of atypical people / activities.

Google Glass has problems with both (a) and (b) - people know you can be recording them, even if you aren't some kind of terrorist or police target.

If all that stands between being able to record everything all the time is disabling a little red LED on the glasses, how soon before the typical person assumes ALL Google Glasses are recording ALL THE TIME?

Think of how quickly /r/creepshots was banned on Reddit...

5 Point bar has banned this tech:

http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/no-google-glasse...

Well, what can I say. Adrian Chen being Adrian Chen. He raises some mildly valid concerns (people might not want to be recorded in public), but if I were to wear Glass and someone asked me to stop recording, I'd probably do it.

Not that I would have to do it (in a public space), but I wouldn't want to get into a fight over something as stupid as that.

However, the original article appropiately disregards the fact that Glass is not about recording video; in fact, without having worn one, I'd say that recording videos longer than 30 seconds is not very common. Taking pictures, for instance, may be much more common. How many of you walk up to someone taking a picture in public and ask him to delete it because you may be in it?

Be realistic. I don't necessarily want to be in people's videos, but come on, would that bother me? Obviously not.

You're in the men's room. You're pissing. Someone with Google Glasses walks in. How would you feel? What would you do?