I Became a Robot With Google Glass

Nerval's Lobster writes "Videographer and journalist Boonsri Dickinson took the second generation of Google Glass out for a spin, and came back with some thoughts (and a video) on the hardware (basically unchanged from the first generation) and the new XE12 software upgrade (which includes many new features, such as the 'eye wink' option for snapping photos). New apps in the tiny-but-growing Glass app store include Compass, which allows you to find interesting landmarks; Field Trip, which allows you to walk around and look up local history; Video Voyager, a tool for sharing videos based on your location; and Strava Run, which visualizes your fitness habits. 'Glass has potential to take off as a new platform because it's not a phone,' she writes. 'The hands-free approach could expand its use to venues as diverse as the operating room and kitchen, unlocking new ways of using the data overlays to augment the real world.' Interesting features aside, though, her experience with the device raises the usual privacy questions: 'For the most part, Glass is a good prototype for this new kind of computer: but do we really need it, and are we ready for it?'"

Comments

Wearable Tech

[elzurawka]

There is huge hype in the media that THIS year will be the year of wearable tech. Until there are better input methods then voice, i dont think it will take off. I hate interacting with my phone through voice, and i feel like Glass would be even worse.

Wearable tech is still a lot of hype by the industry, and I don't know if the consumer is really looking to spend money on it just yet. I feel like we need a breakout tech to really get people on board, and Glass hasn't done that.

Re:Wearable Tech

[Kelbear]

Well, let's think about it. What if some parent showed up at the swim meet with a camcorder to film their kid's performance? Soccer game? Marching band? Maybe a birthday party? Those people aren't getting punched in the face today, what if they try filming those events on their phone? When they film it on a head-mounted camera, is it punchy-time yet? No, it's fairly well understood by those present why that person brought a recording device and it's accepted that recording devices are likely to show up at these kinds of events.

Now, if someone sat down on the subway in the seat across from you and pointed a camcorder at you (whether or not you can tell it's off), that's clearly unsettling and I could very well imagine that person getting punched in the face. It seems there are already fairly clear social norms around when you can record in public. An etiquette for its use has already been established, and in reports from those using the explorer models, I'm already starting to see examples where the writer felt uncomfortable putting on Glass in places like the aforementioned subway. Word about how to recognize the appropriate etiquette will spread in time, and the usage will eventually follow (and of course we'll have people with bad behavior too, much like smartphone creep shots today). Overall, I'm not exactly in a panic about this technology. I'm also not terribly concerned about using Glass to record my kid doing things because the only time I'd take out the Glasses is in typical recording situations.

Poor use of phrase "robot" ?

[kannibal_klown]

If he became a robot, wouldn't that mean he was kind of a slave to whatever the Glass told him to do? Like someone was texting his eyeballs messages saying "Order a quarter-pounder-with-cheese and a Dr Pepper"

If he wanted to say cyborg I'd buy it, or if he "felt" like an android I guess I could accept it.

But "robot" tends to imply a mechanical device more devoid of free-will or thought than some of the other phrases. Heck, the blurb in which it's used is describing how it's expressing personality.

Needs an external redesign

[TheBilgeRat]

It would help if they could design that into a form factor that isn't blatantly a pair of google glasses. I would want my wearable tech to be as inconspicuous and non-intrusive as possible, both to my experience and the public around me.

Didn't we see it coming?

[jigawatt]

We've spent all our time worrying about the singularity as if the machines would eventually gain insight and perspective beyond the best humanity has to offer. Much more likely will be that human cognition falls below the level of a mere machine.

In short, the big problem is not that machines are thinking like humans, but that humans are thinking like machines.

Google Glass altered reality

[DickBreath]

Imagine. Those glasses could recognize advertising. Then mask it with other advertising that Google thinks you are interested in.

For example, that offensive billboard with a barely clothed female could be replaced by a strapping muscle bound shirtless hunk . . . holding puppies or kittens.

As per Vernor Vinge's story Fast Times at Fairmont High, everyone could tell Google what color and style they want their house to appear to other people wearing Glass. When you see artwork, Glass could replace it with different artwork that you prefer.

Two people wearing glass want to watch a movie together? All they have to do is agree which wall surface will become the "tv".

An underground meeting place could have a plain door, but members of the underground group, or invitees to the party would see a sign on the door, and could recognize one another.

Let your imagination roam.

Re:1) yes, 2) no

[CanHasDIY]

Yes we need it. That shouldn't even be a question. Did we need transistors? Did we need the keyboard, the mouse, the gui, the network, the Internet, modern web browsers, tablets, cell phones?

Guess that depends on how one defines "need," doesn't it?