Futuristic hopes, fears clash in Google Glass

Google Glass has many functions, similar to cell phones

Glass users can:

Drew Madison can answer phone calls and texts, receive traffic updates, surf the Internet, check his calendar and get driving directions all without needing to involve either his phone or hands.

The small computer screen that sits inches from his right eye makes this possible.

He winks to take a photo. He records video with a simple voice command. He asks for weather information, and instantly learns it is 20 degrees outside.

Madison, 19, a junior at the University of Dayton, is one of a small group of people across the nation who own a pair of Google Glass, which is a product the tech giant is still testing and has not released for sale. But analysts expect Glass and similar “smart glass” products will hit the shelves later this year.

The hands-free devices could change how people interact with technology. The devices also have promising business, medical and safety applications.

“I think this has the potential to be the next big thing,” Madison said.

A threat or game changer?

But privacy advocates warn that wearable computers threaten the ability of people to have private or anonymous social interactions because at any time they could be under covert surveillance. Glass allows people to record video and snap photos much more discreetly than the current crop of popular consumer electronics.

Advocates are calling for stronger laws to ensure the next innovation in personal gadgetry does not completely erode all expectations of privacy and provide government agencies with yet another tool to meddle in people’s private lives.

“I think this creates an opportunity for us as a society to talk about what we want our expectation of privacy to be,” said Melissa Bilancini, policy coordinator for the ACLU of Ohio. “We as Ohioans and Americans think privacy is important, and we need to figure out what we want our limits to be.”

Google Glass is wearable computer technology that syncs with users’ smartphones.

People slip on the computerized frames, and a small screen rests over one eye.

Glass allows users, through a voice interface, to access the same kind information they can on their smartphones.

Glass users can search the web, view photos and videos, play games, use a compass and check or respond to electronic messages using basic voice commands and gestures.

“It streamlines that quick-hit information, meaning I don’t have to take my phone out, unlock it, find the app, open the app and find the information,” said Ben Arnold, analyst with the consumer technology practice at the NPD Group, a market-research company based in Port Washington, N.Y. “I can just tell Google Glass to retrieve that information through my phone.”

Madison, a mechanical engineering major from Vandalia, heard about Google Glass on the news. After researching it, he decided he wanted a pair.

$1,500 price tag

He went online and signed up to be on the waiting list for Google’s Glass Explorer Program.

Google is beta testing Glass, and the company has issued pairs to thousands of people worldwide, industry experts said. Analysts expect Glass and other smart glasses will be available for purchase later this year, possibly in the spring.

Madison received an invite to participate in the program. He paid the $1,500 fee and a pair arrived in the mail in December.

The screen hangs in the upper right corner of his right eye. It takes up only a small portion of his field of vision. But he can focus on the screen with minor eye movements.

Madison nods and the screen comes to life. He calls up his schedule with a few vocal cues. He scrolls through the local weather forecast and UD basketball scores with a flick of his finger to the side of the frame.

Madison said Glass means he no longer needs to pull out his phone to answer calls and texts and find information online he wants or needs. He said he wears Glass everyday, and the product has simplified and improved his life.

“I feel like we have this nervous tic for our phones, and we are always reaching in our pockets to check if we have text messages or calls,” Madison said. “When I get a text message or phone call, it will pop up in front of me, and it will say your mom is calling, and I know I need to answer that. … If I am in the middle of a conversation or walking and it’s cold out, I won’t have to fumble around for my phone or interrupt the conversation I’m having. I’ll glance up and decide whether the call or text is important, and I don’t need to take my phone out and stare at it. I’m more in the now.”

Strangers and UD students who notice his eyewear are fascinated by the technology and pepper him with questions. Madison said he believes smart glasses are extremely useful and have the potential to become as popular and ubiquitous as cell phones and tablets.

But Madison recently wore the glasses while ordering food at a local business. An employee became visibly concerned that Madison might be videotaping him. Glass has a microphone and camera, and it can record videos or show live video in real time.

Invasion of privacy

Cell phones for years have been capable of snapping photographs and recording audio and video.

But people who take video or photographs with their phones must hold up the devices, and it is fairly obvious when they are filming, according to the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a public interest research organization in Washington, D.C.

Glass and other smart glasses can be worn most of the day, and it is very hard to know when the devices are recording the environment, the center said. Video recording and photographs can be initiated with a subtle tap, command or wink. The device’s small screen lights up when it is recording, but it is not obvious to observers that filming is taking place.

Glass and smart glasses could forever alter how people talk and act in public because they never know when they are being recorded, privacy advocates said. People do not want or expect to be recorded in many public settings, and smart glasses could destroy any presumption of privacy or anonymity. They warn that pervasive surveillance could become the new normal.

Also, data recorded by Glass, such as photos, video, audio and location information, is stored on Google’s servers, said Bilancini, with the ACLU of Ohio.

Google is a private company, but law enforcement and government agencies could request and obtain personal data without needing a warrant, she said.

“Law enforcement needs to get a warrant before they can search your phone, but this is a different type of technology,” she said. “After six months, they might be able to get the information without the warrant — there is nothing protecting that information.”

Under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, authorities do not need a warrant to obtain most digital information that is 180 days old. Bilancini said state and federal laws must be changed and updated to ensure the government cannot easily access private information without probable cause.

The devices also create new legal and practical conundrums.

Already facing bans

On Jan. 18, a man wearing a pair of Glass to a movie at an AMC theater in Columbus was questioned by federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations because he was suspected of using the device to illegally record the film, said Khaalid Walls, a spokesman for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which enforces counterfeiting and piracy laws.

The man said they were prescription glasses, and he did not use the device’s recording function, and authorities took no further action.

Earlier this month, police in California ticketed a female motorist who was wearing Glass. Officers said she was violating a state law that outlaws having video or electronic monitors in view of drivers. But the ticket was dismissed because police could not prove her glasses were on while she was driving.

Lawmakers in several states are considering legislation that would prohibit motorists from wearing head-mounted computers, because they believe the devices will contribute to distracted driving.

Some businesses in Seattle, have prohibited patrons from wearing Google Glass, while gentlemen’s clubs in other states have also banned their use. Analysts said they expect more businesses and government agencies will ban smart glasses on their property to protect people’s privacy.

On Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., said he has major privacy concerns about a new app, called NameTag, that could allow strangers to obtain personal information about a person just by looking at them with Glass. Information includes the person’s name, photos and dating website profile. Advocates said they fear facial recognition software could eliminate all anonymity while out in public.

Google acknowledges that Glass may not be appropriate to wear in some settings, such as a doctor’s office. The company urges its Glass Explorers to be considerate of others while using the devices.

Yet privacy fears arise every time a new and innovative product comes out, and gadgets like smart glasses and smart watches were created to help technology conform to how people want to use it, said Arnold, with the NPD Group.

Use and acceptance of the technology will grow and evolve over time, and people will ultimately decide when and where it is appropriate and inappropriate to don the eyewear, Arnold said.

“I feel like Google leaves that up to us,” he said. “Google essentially says, ‘We make the great technology, and you figure out in which situations it’s acceptable to wear these glasses.’”

Useful resources

Google Glass Explorers are helping develop standards of etiquette when using the technology, Madison said. He said he removes the glasses before entering the men’s room, and he will not wear them in places where they may not be welcome.

But he said some of the anxiety surrounding Glass is attributable to a lack of understanding of the technology.

“With a new technology, people don’t know what it’s capable of or what it’s supposed to do, they just go, ‘Oh, it’s basically a cell phone on your face,’” he said. “They really don’t understand what it’s for and what it’s about.”

He said Glass could be a significant distraction for motorists if they decided to watch videos or play games while driving, but it comes down to personal responsibility. He said he uses the device’s map functions while driving, and it is safer than constantly glancing down at a cell phone or GPS device for directions.

Aside from being marketed to consumers, smart glasses could also have useful commercial applications. Google on its website has a video of a firefighter using Glass to access a floor plan of a building as he makes entry. Surgeons could use Glass to broadcast a medical procedure in real time to teach students remotely or consult with colleagues.

“I could foresee remote medical consultations, distance teaching and case recording to be potential uses,” said Matthew DiPaola, assistant professor of orthopedics at Wright State University. “There are perhaps countless unique ways of using Glass that none of us has yet thought of. Like the smart phone, it is a technology whose potential we will not truly appreciate until it is used by a wide audience.”

But DiPaola said it is difficult to say whether Google Glass will be widely embraced and truly transformative, because many previous products that were hailed as revolutionary ended up flopping.

“A few years ago I remember many really smart people saying that a product called Google Wave was going to replace email — a pretty bold claim. Wave never really caught on and eventually Google cancelled it,” he said. “Whether Glass will be relevant in the future is anyone’s guess.”