{"id":611974,"date":"2023-12-14T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-14T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2023\/12\/14\/are-metas-new-glasses-using-multimodal-ai-another-invasion-of-privacy-plus-palestinian-films-to-see-during-the-el-gouna-film-festival\/"},"modified":"2023-12-14T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-12-14T00:00:00","slug":"are-metas-new-glasses-using-multimodal-ai-another-invasion-of-privacy-plus-palestinian-films-to-see-during-the-el-gouna-film-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2023\/12\/14\/are-metas-new-glasses-using-multimodal-ai-another-invasion-of-privacy-plus-palestinian-films-to-see-during-the-el-gouna-film-festival\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Meta\u2019s new glasses using multimodal AI another invasion of privacy? Plus: Palestinian films to see during the El Gouna Film Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"

Meta<\/strong>\u2019s ushering in of a new age of surveillance is cause for concern. <\/strong>Meta\u2019s new face camera, which comes in the shape of an inconspicuous Ray-Ban, lets wearers shoot photos and videos without detection, and is equipped with microphones. Meta markets these features as a way to \u201clive in the moment\u201d and simultaneously share what you see with the world.<\/p>\n

The Zuck shows us that<\/strong> AI<\/strong> can make us look good and smart\u2026<\/strong>On Tuesday, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta CEO, posted a video<\/a> on Instagram demonstrating multimodal AI that can use the smart glasses\u2019 camera and microphone. Zuckerberg showed the AI helping him scan a shirt to pick a pair of matching trousers, tell him the name of an exotic fruit, and then translate a meme.<\/p>\n

\u2026 but at the cost of your privacy? <\/strong>A New York Times<\/a> journalist wore the glasses for two weeks, using them to secretly take photos and record videos of strangers. Due to the glasses\u2019 ordinary look and camouflaged lens, no one could tell they were being caught on camera. <\/p>\n

Plausible deniability. <\/strong>The journalist, Brian Chen, notes that Meta\u2019s effort to curb undercover surveillance was to add a small LED light that flashes when a photo is taken and stays on while recording a video. Despite this, Chen says no one approached or confronted him despite his constant use of the glasses and its subtle LED outfit.<\/p>\n

This constant surveillance is a sign of the times. <\/strong>While the ever-presence of smartphones, security cameras<\/a> (both public and private), and dashcams already make it likely that we are constantly being recorded wherever we go, smart glasses present a new problem. Privacy scholar Chris Gilliard<\/a>, who has studied the effects of surveillance tech, told NYT that this new wearable camera is going to enable a lot of bad actors intent on taking videos and photos of people without their knowledge or consent.<\/p>\n

Silicon Valley has been shifting computing away from our fingertips and towards our faces<\/strong>, as with the Apple Vision Pro<\/a> VR headset, and several other (less successful) smart glasses such as Snap\u2019s Spectacles<\/a> and Google Glass<\/a>. Another company hoping to help us transition away from screens, but does not want to rest on your face, is Humane<\/a>. The privacy-forward startup launched their AI Pin<\/a> last month, hoping to create more human-centered tech.<\/p>\n

The big picture: <\/strong>While Meta has taken (flimsy) strides to make its smart glasses\u2019 camera noticeable, it\u2019s important to note that a broader concern is whether or not the data collected by their tech will be in safe hands. Meta has a history<\/a> of selling<\/a> user data to third party companies, and just this year, Zuckerberg was fined USD 1.3 bn<\/a> for mishandling our behavioral data.<\/p>\n

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All eyes on Palestine at the <\/strong>El Gouna Film Festival<\/a><\/strong>:<\/strong> The film festival,which kicks off today and ends next Thursday, 21 December, includes a special program spotlighting Palestinian narratives \u2014 Windows on Palestine<\/a> \u2014 in collaboration with the Palestine Film Institute<\/a>. This program is designed to \u201camplify the voices of Palestinians through the lens of cinema,\u201d according to Artistic Director Marianne Khoury. <\/p>\n

A broader conversation:<\/strong> The films will span across genres and stories, and will be played throughout the festival. The films that will be featured:<\/p>\n