Life in the 'Now' - Google Glass

When it comes to big, ambitious projects - Google isn't a company to shy away. Google Maps, Street View, Google Fiber, Driverless Cars ... the list could go on. Google Glass is no different. I've been following the progress of Project Glass since it's announcement April 2012 and have dramatically mixed feelings of excitement and fear for this project, allured by some curiosity and wonder. I'll outline why in this post.

If you don't know; Google Glass is a head-mounted display, which provides an interface for you -- like you were playing a first person game - your health, a map and information is displayed in the corners; this is essentially that. For a better explanation, watch this prototype video from April 2012:

Looks pretty amazing, right? If you've read any of my previous posts (thanks!), you'll see that I absolutely love Android, Google Now & the idea of a technological ecosystem - Google Glass is essentially Google Now with a much bigger UI. However, this project does raise a lot of pros and cons for me.

I think it's ridiculously innovative, it's going to be painfully convenient, especially for map following! If you have a smartphone, you already have information about anything you want, at any time in your pocket. Just a Google search away. With Glass, you can simply look at something, ask Glass and you have information in your line-of-sight. I usually don't like the phrase, but the possibilities are endless.

What scares me, aside from the fact that I think this may only be voice controlled -- can you imagine going to the Eiffel Tower and having hundreds of people shouting "GLASS, TAKE A PICTURE!" -- is augmented reality.

Augmented reality scares me, because while it can do so much good, it can also be so dangerous. If you don't know, augmented reality is basically "CGI" for real life. In the video, the text messages and map directions were augmented reality. It's adding a graphical layer over 'real life' - here's a better video example:

Tinfoil hat time, now! What happens when augmented reality is used for billboards and advertisements that appear in your face. Google is primarily an advertising company, after all. What's to stop companies wanting artificial advertisements placed in 'convenient' places for the consumer?

The real reason augmented reality scares me, is that while we have the ability to add things, we also have the ability to cover things. If that doesn't ring alarm bells for you, here's why I think it should: it opens up an entire new generation of censorship. This video demonstrates such ability.

Companies & Government could restrict how, when & why we can use such technologies (like Apples already demonstrated stranglehold on their own technology). I think the most horrifying thought is how easily things can be censored and removed. Compare it to Chinese internet filter, where the government block free information they don’t want their people to see; now imagine that, but for reality.

I don’t think I even have to go into how fraudsters, hackers & criminals could use this technology to their advantage.

Not to mention that there could no longer be anonymity. The world as we know it is hellbent on online social networking & always being connected. If, for example, AR technology had Facebook (or whatever popular social networking site is the most popular at the time) integration. The technology could be used to identify any detail one places on their Facebook page just by simply looking at the person and having facial recognition (a technology Facebook has actually introduced) do the rest.

If you also want another reason why I'm hesitant on Project Glass, think back to Black Mirror's "The Entire History of You" (4od link!)

Tinfoil hat aside, I still am excited to see how this project grows and definitely want to have some form of involvement in it. I just hope they release a model compatible for people with glasses...