Why Meta is removing the camera

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SPEAKER_6 (1:59)

So Meta is preparing to release a new line of smart glasses, completely, entirely devoid of cameras, specifically to address these mounting fears over privacy. And the internal code name for this device is Luna.

SPEAKER_7 (2:11)

There is a really specific irony in that hardware choice. You are looking at a company that spent billions of dollars and years of research developing visual artificial intelligence.

They built these incredibly complex systems to recognize objects in real time, to map three-dimensional spaces and track human eye movement. And after all of that capital expenditure and engineering effort, their next move is to just intentionally rip the lens right out of the hardware.

SPEAKER_6 (2:38)

Yeah, and the volume we are talking about here makes this a highly significant decision. Meta is entirely dominating the smart glasses market right now. They sold over 7 million pairs of their Essilor Luxottica collaboration previously.

SPEAKER_7 (2:51)

7 million is a massive footprint.

SPEAKER_6 (2:53)

It is, and when you look at the display list segment of the market, they currently hold 94% of it. So they essentially have a monopoly on putting connected technology on the human face, which means whatever hardware standard they choose just naturally becomes the default standard for the industry.

SPEAKER_7 (3:08)

So that brings us to the real question here. If a tech company removes a screen and they remove the camera from a wearable device, what exactly are you actually wearing on your face and what is it taking from you?

SPEAKER_6 (3:20)

Well, to understand why the camera is being removed, we have to look closely at what is happening with the current models that still have them because the camera equipped glasses actually earn the nickname pervert glasses in various circles.

SPEAKER_7 (3:32)

Right. Mostly because the hardware looks nearly identical to standard analog sunglasses. So the social friction of recording in public is entirely gone.

SPEAKER_6 (3:41)

Exactly. People use them for surreptitious recording in shared spaces. It completely bypasses the usual social cues of holding up a phone or pointing a lens at someone.

SPEAKER_7 (3:50)

Which means we are witnessing the total loss of ambient privacy.

Think about the environment just a generation ago. People could leave their house for work or run an errand, and they were completely disconnected from the network. You were just a physical body moving through a physical space.

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SPEAKER_7 (4:16)

But now, like if you are sitting on the train right now, look at the people around you. Someone wearing normal looking sunglasses might be broadcasting your face to a data center.