As was easily predictable, the advancement of technology smart glasses and facial recognition opens up disturbing scenarios in terms of privacy, confirmed by a recent “experiment”. Two Harvard students, AnhPhu Nguyen and Caine Ardayfio, have in fact created a project that demonstrates how it is possible, with already available technologies, to “doxx” people, that is, reveal their identity, telephone number, address and other information personal, simply framing them with a pair of smart glasses.
The system, called I-XRAYuses Ray-Ban Meta glasses and takes advantage of their ability to stream video on Instagram. A program then analyzes the video stream, identifies the faces and compares them with public databases to obtain personal information, which is then displayed on a connected app.
In the demonstration video, Nguyen and Ardayfio use I-XRAY to identify classmates, obtaining their addresses and the names of their family members in real time. Even more disturbing is the scene in which the two students interact with unknown people on public transport, pretending to know them thanks to the information obtained from the system.
Facial recognition technology has reached an impressive level of accuracy, and I-XRAY simply combines existing tools, such as the PimEyes facial search engine, known for its accuracy. What makes this project particularly concerning is the use of a consumer device as discreet and easily accessible as the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses.
Nguyen and Ardayfio say they created I-XRAY not for malicious purposes, but to raise public awareness of real privacy risks. Their project demonstrates that the dystopian scenario of a society where anonymity is impossible is closer than one might think.
Privacy has always been a central topic in the smart glasses debate. The failure of Google Glass was partly due to public concerns about being videotaped without consent. Today, with the spread of smartphones and social media, people are more used to being filmed, but smart glasses like the Ray-Ban Meta are less noticeable and therefore more insidious.
Meta, in its privacy policy, invites users to respect the preferences of others and to use glasses responsibly. However, there is no guarantee that all users will behave ethically. To protect your privacy, you can also request to be excluded from face search and people search databases, but it is nearly impossible to completely erase your online presence.
In short, there are many issues that still need to be explored. What do you think? Should there be more stringent legislation on this matter or should users be able to self-regulate? Tell us yours in the comments below.
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