The Gee Code: Will Gen Z Embrace AI Wearables?
Smart eyeglasses are becoming more popular, including for live streaming.
The future of AI can now sit on your face.
Backed by Meta and produced by Ray-Ban, the Meta Smart Glasses mark a new precedent for the AI space.
In 2023, Meta released smart eyewear that can capture photos, videos and share up to 30 minutes of live streaming through an attached camera. The camera which has AI built-in allows the wearer to ask Meta questions that AI can answer. Additional features include audio and microphone systems to play music.
While Meta was the first to market with the technology, competitors are brewing. Just last month, Solos, a smart glasses company whose product features AI audio benefits, announced it would by the end of the year launch a version of their product with a detachable camera feature.
Solos glasses currently offer AI translation and act as a phone’s smart assistant to play some music or call someone on command.
Its soon-to-come camera feature will be backed by OpenAI’s new GPT-40 model, which will allow the camera to recognize objects and answer questions about them, similar to the Meta Ray-Bans.
The key differentiation in the product concept so far is Solos’ ability to provide consumers with a detachable camera feature which, according to a report by The Verge, is in place to provide stylistic flexibility in addition to safety protocols for when wearers are in settings that do not allow cameras.
The rise and popularity of AI wearables will likely take time to pick up speed as the normalization of any new technology does.
Gen Z who love to digitally document their lives will likely enjoy the product as it offers a hands-free way to capture content. Influencers who have promoted the Meta Ray-Bans for example have cited that using the product helps them remain more present in the moment, as their eyewear can capture the content they need, instead of using their phones.
The ability to be present of course is subjective. I imagine that in the wrong hands, AI wearable glasses from any brand might serve to cause distractions from real life as wearers can utilize them at any time they choose to avoid being invested in an IRL moment.
Keeping it gee, young Zoomers and Gen Alpha, who have grown accustomed to high-tech entertainment like AR gaming goggles may be the easiest to adopt this technology as they are more familiar with that crossover in life. Seniors, however, might have some hesitation as the technology reads too close to the beginning of many dystopian novels.
Miranda Perez (she/her/hers) is a Jersey City, NJ-based journalist who covers the tech industry. Follow her on X and Instagram: @mimithegee.
Edited by NaTyshca Pickett