Google Glass is a hop, a skip, and a jump away from becoming publicly available. But with this new technology comes new, human concerns. Everybody has been talking about it, looking for it, and reading excitedly about it. After all, there hasn’t ever quite been anything like it—a device that seems to just fulfill everything that we have hoped for after seeing too many science fiction movies. There have been attempts before, but there were none that have been quite as successful in developing a device that rests upon your face, enabling us record and share what we see to the world instantly.
There has been so much discussion about the possibilities of its use. Not only could it capture memories; our day-to-day life and the world as we see it but also makes life easier by getting the Web right in our face literally. This gives people access to a myriad of entertainment and productivity tools from the simple Google search to streaming and even VoIP service.
But with anything groundbreaking, there are also some Google Glass risks, concerns and issues popping up about the new technology. After all, for all the good it could do, it could also do just as much harm.
Privacy, Ethics, and How Google Glass is a Risk
Concerns about privacy have been argued over since the Internet was born. Interconnected computers, endless sharing, personal profiles and information, sensitive data, and more are floating around online, waiting to be used, or exploited. These concerns seem to be amplified with Google Glass.
After all, with GPS alone, people fear that their every move is being traced. If one were to use Google Glass, wouldn’t it be rather the same? Locations, landmarks, and more, can pinpoint where an individual is at any given time. The Glass sees what our eyes see. They will be able to note what we purchase, where we go, what we do, who we meet, our daily lives and schedules. Al these may seem trivial but combining all these information can be used for non-ethical activities such as fraud, identity theft, and even espionage.
Exploitation possibilities
Say you run into someone and that person is using Google Glass. How easy could it be to take a photo of you, and for your image to be posted online for whatever use? As it is, there are already plenty of instances where technology is used for perversion. In Reddit , there has been a trend of people taking unsolicited and often intrusive photographs of attractive women on the streets and posting it online for others’ appraisal. Everything of that nature become so much easier to do with a single gesture through Google Glass.
As it is, black hats are capable of using web cams in order to furtively spy on people. This can be used to even worse possibilities with the use of Google Glass. And as if it weren’t bad enough, think of what it could do if they were to spy on a businessman, going about his day, looking at sensitive company information, and more. That is corporate espionage made easier.
Google Glass begins to get banned
Google Glass is not yet out in the markets, and yet there are already areas in the United States where it is being banned. Las Vegas has taken the initiative in banning the use of Google Glass. Apart from the obvious use for cheating Las Vegas’ many casinos, it is incredibly easy to use this device in order to infringe on the privacy of upscale clientele that the city plays host to on a regular basis.
Lawmakers in Congress have expressed great concerns over privacy infringements that could be made possible with Google Glass. They are asking Google to formally address all these privacy and ethics concerns about the device, asking that they produce it by June 14.
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