An unsettling report from 404 Media has shed light on the ways that Meta’s smart glasses could be used to violate people’s privacy. Two Harvard students used facial recognition tech and a large language model to unearth a subject’s name, occupation, and other details, automatically gathering even more information like addresses, phone numbers, and Social Security Numbers from various online sources. AnhPhu Nguyen and Caine Ardayfio demonstrated the capabilities of their setup, named I-XRAY, by swiftly gathering information about strangers they encountered, streaming video to Instagram and utilizing AI to pull additional data. The students developed I-XRAY to raise awareness about the technology’s potential dangers, refusing to release the code they used. Resources are provided for individuals to remove their information from the services used by I-XRAY, suggesting personal information removal services for added privacy protection. While facial recognition technology is not new, the integration into inconspicuous smart glasses like Meta’s has raised concerns, prompting Meta to remind users of their responsibility to comply with privacy laws and not misuse the technology for commercial purposes.
