Google is currently in development of a product dubbed Google Glasses that will be able to project information onto the lenses. Enthusiasts are rejoicing but some speculators question whether Google has taken "social" too far.
Google has yet to announce any such product development, but reports from The New York Times and the blog 9to5Google report the glasses, speculated to be in creation at the top secret lab "Google X," will be released as early as late this year.
According to the New York Times, the glasses will use the same Android software that powers Android smartphones and tablets. Like smartphones and tablets, the glasses will be equipped with GPS and motion sensors. The glasses will also contain a camera and audio inputs and outputs--this has some people worried.
The largest point of contention seems to be with privacy and the potential use of facial recognition software. Naturally, this kind of technology has some jumping with glee and others understandably nervous.
Would it be neat to stand in front of a total stranger and instantly know their name, where they went to school, and where they work? Yes and no. We all saw what happened in Minority Report and Terminator. If the glasses do indeed come with facial recognition (which is doubtful initially but quite likely down the line), privacy advocates will be up in arms.
Judging from Google's past blunders with privacy, the glasses may not go over too well with the mass public. As history tells us, people do not like when their privacy is tampered with -- even if it is for their own good. When 10K surveillance cameras went up all around the city of London, people cried foul. Imagine strangers recording and viewing you without your knowledge? Add GPS into the mix and it is easy to imagine how the glasses could get out of hand.
There seems to be this constant obsession with technology companies to become more and more social, but where is the line drawn? It seems the possible capabilities of the Google glasses could turn "social" into "stalker."