Ray-Ban Meta Glasses - An AI Gadget That Shouldn't Exist

Ray-Ban Meta Glasses have been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately. According to an investigation by Swedish newspapers Svenska Dagbladet (SvD) and Goteborgs-Posten (GP), videos captured by glass-wearers in toilets and bedrooms are sometimes reviewed by a Meta subcontractor based out of Nairobi, Kenya.

The narrative in the mainstream media and on social media has vociferously vilified the villain - a questionable chap named Mark from Metaverse. However, we’ve missed asking whether this scandal affects Ray-Ban’s brand equity and, more importantly, whether they were complicit in this scandal.

Ray-Ban has been around for 90 years. Their products are solid; the brand has an aura of its own, and millions of people across the globe vouch for their products and the brand. I can tell you from my work with a 140-year-old Swiss brand that legacy brands are keen to tie up with new-age brands to appeal to younger customers. Reckon Ray-Ban’s collaboration with Meta was an outcome of this brand and business objective.

Well, Meta’s reputation with respect to misuse of personal data has been shaky since the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Also, some of the recent controversial commentary by Facebook’s former Director of Public Policy, Sarah Wynn-Williams, has only added to the darkness of Meta’s reputation.

Truth be told - not many digital professionals were surprised when Meta was again in the news for misuse of data via their latest glasses, but one wonders why the brand owners at Ray-Ban did not think of this before they tied up with Meta. Or were they aware of shady practices that these glasses would entail and still colluded with Mark from Metaverse?

While my mind is buzzing with questions I’ll never have answers to, I hope the commentary in the mainstream media and on social media vilifies not just one villain but two - Mark from Metaverse and the ragged band from Ray-Ban.