Metas new wearables bring an AI agent, cameras and fresh privacy concerns

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Set us as preferred Meta is doubling down on smart glasses and artificial intelligence even as concerns mount that wearable technology is being used to violate people’s privacy.On Wednesday, the company said it’s releasing $1,299 virtual reality glasses that buyers can use to watch movies, play games and browse the internet.The parent company of Facebook and Instagram also announced a new lineup of smart glasses including a $349 pair without cameras.The company plans to add an AI agent called Muse to its smart glasses which users can use to book appointments, find flights and do other tasks.

And it’s been working on a gadget with its AI agent that fits on a keychain that’s still in development but the company plans to ship in December.The release of new wearables underscores how one of the world’s largest tech companies is barreling forward in the AI race even as tech workers and politicians call for the industry to slow down.

“It’s no secret that people in the industry have a wide range of views about how the future is going to go.But at Meta, we are optimists because we believe in people,” said Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg during a keynote speech at the company’s conference.

The path to a safe future, he said, is to “distribute this technology widely and create the right checks and balances, rather than concentrating it in the hands of just a few.”The company, which has been criticized for its collection of people’s social media data, has faced backlash from people who have called its high-tech eyewear “pervert glasses” because some buyers modified them to secretly record people.Business From courtrooms to strip clubs, backlash is building against Meta’s latest smart glasses as a disturbing social media trend takes hold.More than 70 people who bought, owned or were recorded with smart...