Did you know that you can wear technology? Although we have not seen it sashayed down the runway at Fashion Week, Google Glass is a piece of fashionable technology that is mounted on the wearer’s head and offers many of the same features as a computer, without all the weight and keys.
Only people who sign up on Google’s Glass Explorer Program may, but are not guaranteed to, experience the features of the futuristic specs such as hands-free video recording with the option to upload to YouTube, access to music playlists, the ability to view texts and emails and respond using voice command, directions from Google Maps via voice command, and voice-activated language translation.
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Many features of Google Glass utilize voice command, so at first, taking pictures with the Glass was no execption. All you had to do was say, “Take a picture,” and your wish would be its command. This was already an impressive feature of the device, but Google raised the ante when it introduced wink-and-shoot photography.
Google explains, “Glass is about helping you look up and experience the world around you without getting bogged down by technology. Based on this philosophy, we’ve got a new setting that lets you quickly and easily capture the moments you care about with a simple wink of the eye.”
Google Glass was received hesitantly when the issue of privacy concerns arose, for Glass essentially allows you to discreetly take a picture or record someone else without their knowledge. For this reason, Google Glass has been banned in restaurants, bars, movie theaters, and casinos, among other places.
Google resorted to adding a lock screen mode, similar to that on any smartphone; the Glass can only be accessed once its user has swiped her own special pattern. Strangers will probably become wary once they see someone begin to activate the so-called intrusive device. To quell privacy concerns, Google has assured the public that it will not permit facial recognition apps on the Glass.
Samantha Hott ’16, a participant of the 2012 Google CAPE program, commented, “I think there are privacy concerns for almost everything technology-based.” Going along with Samantha’s point, many of these aforementioned concerns apply to other technology already on the market. With the smartphones and devices that exist now, people can also take pictures of or record other people without their consent by taking off the flash and positioning the phone, laptop or tablet inconspicuously. Our privacy is already in peril, but how much privacy can we realistically expect when our lives exist in the public eye, experiencing an exponential increase in available technology?
Despite the backlash, many still want to get their hands on these new glasses, even with a price tag of $1,500.