Meta plans to add facial recognition to its smart glasses as soon as this year, according to a new report from The New York Times. The feature, known internally as ‘Name Tag’, would allow smart glasses wearers to identify people and obtain information about them through Meta’s AI assistant.
Meta’s plans may change, the report notes. The tech giant has been considering how to release a feature that poses “security and privacy risks” since early last year.
According to an internal memo, the company originally planned to release Name Tag to attendees at a conference for the visually impaired before releasing it to the public, but that ultimately did not happen.
Meta reportedly saw the political tumult in the United States as a good time to release the feature film.
“We will launch into a dynamic political environment in which many civil society groups that we expected to attack us would focus their resources elsewhere,” the document said.
Meta considered adding facial recognition technology to the first version of its Ray-Ban smart glasses in 2021, but dropped the plans due to technical challenges and ethical concerns. The NYT reports that the company has revived its plans as the Trump administration has moved closer to big tech and after the unexpected success of its smart glasses.
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