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As I wrote last week, I’m rapidly running out of body parts to do my job. Part of being human is knowing when to ask for help, so a few months ago, I recruited senior editor Sean Hollister — a fellow smart glasses expert — to help me test Halo Glasses, an always-listening AI companion who lives inside a pair of glasses.
Halo is the brainchild of two Harvard alumni who made headlines last year after manipulating a pair of Ray-Ban Metas to trick strangers in real time. In August, Anhphu Nguyen and Ken Ardefio announced They were creating a pair of always-on AI glasses that can listen, record, transcribe and then systematically answer questions related to your real-time conversations. It’s kind of a mix between Cluly, another AI startup that aims to help you “cheat on everything,” and B, an AI wearable that claims to act as your second memory. Instead of a pin or wristband, it lets you discreetly view answers inside a pair of smart glasses.
So of course I wanted to test them out.
Shawn and I chatted with Ardefio, who told us that while Halo will eventually build its own hardware, for now, we’ll be among the first to experience running their app. Even Reality G1 GlassesYou may not have heard of Even Realities, but it was one of the more impressive smart glasses makers at CES. All we have to do is try the prototype, compare notes and then write up our experience. Easy, right?
The appeal for both of us was another memory. We’re busy, sometimes forgetful people. Wouldn’t life – and our jobs – be a little easier if we stopped forgetting the one thing we told our coworkers, bosses, and spouses about what we should do? Wouldn’t it be easier to interview sources if, when they use an esoteric term, a definition could come up in real time without breaking the flow of conversation?
It certainly sounds nice, but always-on AI wearable devices present a burden of ethical dilemmas. Since this is a completely new product category, its ethics took us a bit by surprise. For starters, Shawn lives in California – a state where legally recording conversations requires consent from both parties. Is he committing a crime if he wears these glasses without telling everyone around him that he is recording? And Shawn’s wife has a job that requires privacy. If Shawn forgets to turn off an always-on recording device while she’s nearby while she’s working, her livelihood could be at risk. As a result, Shawn couldn’t Really test out these glasses at home. Meanwhile, my spouse got very fed up with AI wearables always listening when I reviewed the B and it broadcast one of our fights. (To test a friend, I had to wear it outside the house.) Our solution was to have each of us wear a pair of G1 Glasses running Halo and hop on a video call to test it with each other.
In theory, Hello works like this: In the app, you see a live transcription of a conversation happening around you. From time to time, a pop-up fact appears about something referenced. For example, you might be talking about animals native to Australia, and someone asks which one is the most dangerous. That reply is sent to your glasses, and you can look like smartypants in your conversation. Once the conversation ends, you’ll see a quick summary of it and some action items to address – just like you compile at the end of a meeting.
In practice, our call was ridiculous.
It started with a 20-minute troubleshooting session that included multiple firmware updates and disconnections. I’d love to give you more details than that, because it’s… The weirdest way to interact with the AI: To summon the display, the G1 glasses require you to look up. You can adjust the angle as required – a wise choice, as the default is 40 degrees. It’s kind of like throwing your head back to look at the ceiling. We both adjusted to about 15 degrees, but it’s still a ridiculously clear trigger.
Wonky prototyping hardware is forgivable because you’re exploring an idea. And the idea that AI glasses could make you smarter without knowing the person you’re talking to makes me uncomfortable.
I talked to Shawn about my concerns. We discussed whether smart glasses really help people be present in the moment. We wondered, can you really be yourself if you know you’re being recorded? What level of disclosure is ethical? How do you protect the privacy of your loved ones who are not as keen on this technology as you are?
It was an interesting conversation, except when AI got involved. At that point, one of us would have to tilt our head back to see whatever alert came up. Imagine Shawn and I, 30 minutes after the call, throwing our heads back like deranged sea lions barking on the pier.
Sometimes he would even start talking about small, useless things. For example, it showed me the definition of “tied” after I used it correctly. I was a little annoyed that the AI probably thought I didn’t know the meaning of that word in context. When I referenced Cluly, Hello AI provided factual information about it no news“A 1995 coming-of-age comedy film directed by Amy Heckerling.” Specialized A.I.
The worst was when Hello displayed a message explaining that mobile phones first emerged in the 1970s and 80s. Shawn must have said something about the phone for me to get it. I told Shawn this fact. He then told me that the same information was visible on his glasses. The AI reminded me again that phones first appeared in the 1970s and 80s. We were trapped in a hellish AI-driven ouroboros. We bowed our heads some more.
A few times, Hello AI offered useful facts. The definition of “nits” came up when we were talking about displays on smart glasses. When Shawn and I considered the implications of always-on recording on the lives of those around us, it defined “doomism.”
But ultimately, the use of Halo was more of a distraction than a help. All the while, about 10 percent of the brain’s power was spent wondering when the assistant would arrive or disconnect. Re-reading the transcript of our conversation in the app, there were so many missed threads I wish we’d gone into more depth, if not for all the distractions.
Shawn told me that his interest in Halo was sparked by the human desire to “be better remembered.” I’ll bet anyone with a to-do list would do this. I felt the same way when testing the AI Wearable B. and yet, it The conversation – where the AI was spitting out the same facts to each of us at the same time – just reminded me of Microsoft’s Clippy. Always there, bugging you with little things that weren’t that useful, and interrupting your thought process as you move forward.
For now, I think I’ll settle for my imperfect hodgepodge of analog Post-Its and to-do lists. I would potentially look foolish in conversation by asking, “Excuse me, what does that mean?” It’s not exciting, but I won’t bow my head next time I need an answer.
