👓 Privacy in the Eye of the Beholder?

A little while ago, I interviewed Dr. Tehilla Shwartz Altschuler on the Privacy Insider Podcast. Among other topics, Dr. Altschuler was researching the impact of smart glasses on society and our expectation of privacy. Most people don’t wear smart glasses, or like the look of them–you may have heard wearers of Google Glass called “glassholes.”

But Dr. Altschuler believed that they have the potential to see widespread adoption, with widespread consequences for data privacy.

Maybe it’s to avoid the baggage associated with “smart glasses” or the “glasshole” moniker, but Google announced just recently that it’s launching a new line of “intelligent eyewear” (they’re smart glasses).

We all know you have no expectation of privacy when you’re in public. But if everyone is equipped with smart glasses, you might actually have no privacy in public–things like your identity, your history, your current emotional state, your likeness, and more, all readily available to a smart glasses wearer.

Take a listen to the episode here to hear Dr. Altschuler’s insights. A big question I’m still asking: How will anybody consent to having their facial biometrics processed by a smart glass wearer?

Best,

Arlo

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