Technology Desk
AI-powered smart glasses are increasingly looking like ordinary eyewear, but behind their frames sit cameras, microphones, speakers and artificial intelligence capable of performing tasks once associated mainly with smartphones.
Users can make calls, take photographs and videos, translate languages, receive directions and interact with AI assistants without reaching for a phone. For people with visual impairments, the devices can also read text aloud, identify objects and provide assistance while navigating everyday environments.
Yet the same features that make smart glasses convenient are creating a growing debate over privacy.
One of the main concerns is that people standing near a wearer may not immediately realise that a camera is recording them. Unlike a smartphone, which normally has to be visibly raised before filming, the camera on smart glasses is built discreetly into the frame.
Meta, one of the major manufacturers of AI-enabled smart glasses, uses a small indicator light to show when its glasses are recording. The company has also designed the device so that attempts to cover the recording light can disable the camera.
Privacy campaigners, however, argue that noticing a small light is not necessarily the same as giving consent to being recorded. A person may also have no way of knowing whether footage of them will later be uploaded to social media or viewed by thousands of people.
Concerns have grown following reports of people being filmed in public without their knowledge, including women whose interactions with smart-glasses users were later posted online. Such cases have intensified questions over whether existing privacy and harassment laws are keeping pace with wearable technology.
Some businesses and organisations have already begun restricting their use. British pub operator Wetherspoon has prohibited filming with smart glasses across many of its venues, while some cinemas and event organisers have introduced similar rules.
Authorities in several countries are also examining the issue. In France, complaints involving the unauthorised recording and online publication of women have drawn scrutiny, while workplace use of camera-equipped glasses has also raised data-protection concerns. Australia has considered restrictions on such devices in government environments.
The legal position can be complicated. Recording in a public place is not automatically illegal in many jurisdictions. However, existing laws may apply when recording becomes part of harassment, stalking, sexual misconduct or the misuse of personal information.
Despite the risks, smart glasses also offer significant benefits.
For people with disabilities, wearable AI can provide greater independence. A visually impaired user may be able to ask the device to identify an object or read a sign, while future applications could assist older people or those with memory difficulties in completing everyday tasks.
The challenge, therefore, is not simply whether smart glasses should exist, but how they should be used.
Clearer recording signals, stronger consent practices, restrictions in sensitive locations and faster action against abusive content could help reduce the risks. Technology companies will also face increasing pressure to make privacy safeguards as important as new AI features.
Smart glasses may eventually become a common part of daily life. Whether they are viewed primarily as useful assistants or as tools for invisible surveillance will depend largely on how manufacturers, users, regulators and social-media platforms balance innovation with the right to privacy.
Sources: BBC News Bangla, Reuters and the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).