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, internally known as “Name Tag,” would allow smart glasses wearers to identify people and get information about them through Meta’s AI assistant.
Meta’s plans could change, the report notes. The tech giant has been deliberating since early last year on how to release a feature that carries “safety and privacy risks.”
According to an internal memo, the company had originally planned to release Name Tag to attendees of a conference for the visually impaired before releasing it to the public, but didn’t end up doing that.
Meta reportedly saw the political tumult in the United States as a good time to release the feature.
“We will launch during a dynamic political environment where many civil society groups that we would expect to attack us would have their resources focused on other concerns,” the document reads.
Meta considered adding facial recognition technology to the first version of its Ray-Ban smart glasses back in 2021, but dropped the plans over technical challenges and ethical concerns. The NYT reports that the company has revived its plans as the Trump administration has grown closer to Big Tech, and following the unexpected success of its smart glasses.
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