Two former Harvard students have unveiled a groundbreaking pair of AI-powered smart glasses that transcend the conventional boundaries of wearable technology. These "always-on" glasses are designed to not only listen to and record every conversation but also transcribe and display relevant information in real-time, aiming to bestow the wearer with "super intelligence" and "infinite memory" upon donning them.
Halo, the startup behind this innovative tech, is led by AnhPhu Nguyen and Caine Ardayfio, who have successfully raised $1 million in funding. Their creation, priced at $249, is set to revolutionize the way we interact with information and each other. The glasses, which will be available for pre-order soon, are touted as the "first real step towards vibe thinking," a concept that blurs the lines between human cognition and artificial intelligence.
However, this leap in technology also raises pressing concerns about privacy and the ethics of covert recording. Unlike Meta's smart glasses, which feature an indicator light to signal when they are actively recording, Halo's glasses, named Halo X, operate discreetly without alerting others to the ongoing surveillance. This has sparked a debate among privacy advocates who warn of the normalization of such devices in public spaces, potentially eroding the expectation of privacy in our conversations.
The legality of covert recording is also a contentious issue, with several U.S. states prohibiting it without the consent of all parties involved. Ardayfio acknowledges this but places the onus on users to obtain consent, aligning with the laws of a dozen U.S. states that mandate mutual consent for recording.
Furthermore, the storage and security of the recorded data are significant concerns. While Halo relies on Soniox for audio transcription, which claims not to store recordings, there is skepticism about the end-to-end encryption of the finished product and the absence of evidence supporting this claim. Nguyen mentions the company's aim for SOC 2 compliance, indicating an independent audit to ensure customer data protection, though a timeline for this compliance remains undisclosed.
The duo's previous project, I-XRAY, which added facial-recognition capabilities to Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses, demonstrated their penchant for privacy-invasive technology. Their willingness to test such technology on unsuspecting individuals without consent has further fueled concerns about the ethical implications of their work.
As the technology evolves, the Halo X glasses currently lack a camera but are considering its addition in future models. Users must keep their smartphones nearby to power the glasses and receive real-time information prompts. The glasses are manufactured by an unnamed company and are linked to an app on the user's phone, which handles the computing tasks due to the device's limited power.
Underpinning the glasses' functionality are Google's Gemini and Perplexity, serving as the chatbot engine. Gemini excels in math and reasoning, while Perplexity is utilized for internet scraping, according to the co-founders. This technology allows the glasses to provide quick and accurate responses, as demonstrated in a TechCrunch interview when the glasses correctly predicted the release window for the next season of "The Witcher" on Netflix.
The advent of Halo's smart glasses presents a dichotomy between enhancing human intelligence and potentially compromising personal privacy. As these devices become more integrated into our daily lives, the conversation around their ethical use and societal impact will only grow more critical.