Facebook is reportedly assessing the legal implications of incorporating facial recognition technology into a pair of smart glasses the company is currently developing and intends to launch later this year.
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Prototype Project Aria AR glasses that Facebook uses to research AR technology
According to BuzzFeed News, Facebook’s AR and VR chief Andrew Bosworth told employees in an internal meeting on Thursday that the company is currently assessing whether or not there is a legal framework for it to incorporate. facial recognition technology in devices.
“Facial recognition… could be the thorniest issue, where the benefits are so clear, and the risks are so clear, and we don’t know where to balance these things,” Bosworth said in response to a question from an employee. on whether people would be able to “mark their faces as unfathomable” when smart glasses become mainstream technology. The anonymous worker specifically highlighted fears about the potential for “real-world harm” including “stalkers.”
According to the report, Bosworth was quick to point out that nothing had been decided yet and that this may well prove that current state laws would make it impossible for Facebook to offer people the ability to search other people by. according to the actual profile of their face.
Following the story’s publication, Bosworth took to Twitter to point out that Facebook had been “open” about its efforts to develop AR glasses, which he said were “still in the early stages”. his beginnings”.
“Facial recognition is a hugely controversial topic and for good reason and I was talking about how we’re going to have to have a very public discussion about the pros and cons,” Bosworth said, adding in a follow-up tweet: “In In our meeting today, I specifically said that the future product would be fine without it, but there would be good use cases if it could be done in a way that the public and regulators alike. would be comfortable. “
Facebook first spoke publicly about its smart glasses project last year, saying the product would arrive “sooner rather than later” in 2021. The glasses are said to be in development in partnership with Ray-Ban and are expected to be released. meet. with similar competing products from Snapchat and Amazon.
We have been open about our efforts to build AR glasses and are still in their early stages. Facial recognition is a hugely controversial topic and for good reason and I was talking about how we’re going to have to have a very public discussion about the pros and cons. (1/2) https://t.co/PFNSoBpcni – Boz (@boztank) February 25, 2021
Facebook has used facial recognition on its social network to identify people in images and powerful photo tag suggestions, but the use of technology in an outward-facing capacity and in the real world is a particularly sensitive issue. . The controversy has been magnified by reports from government authorities and private companies exploring the technology as a way to identify and track civilians, combined with a lack of federal regulation surrounding its use.
Facial recognition has been implemented in Apple’s Photos app and Apple has used it as a security feature to unlock iPhones and iPads via biometric authentication. Apple is also working on smart glasses that will increase people’s real-world perspective with digital functionality, although its product is still considered “several years away” from launch and there is no current indication that Apple intends to. to use technology in his rumored AR glasses. Regardless, given the company’s privacy policy, such an app is unlikely to resemble the one Facebook appears to be exploring.
For more information on Apple’s smart glasses, be sure to check out our dedicated guide.
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