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Lorde Rejects AI Smart Glasses as Celebrity Backlash Builds

Her on‑stage remark at a Ray‑Ban‑sponsored festival focused attention on covert recording and social‑acceptability risks posed by camera‑equipped eyewear.

Overview

  • During a Madrid festival set, Lorde told the crowd, “Can I just say, for the record, fuck the glasses,” and urged people not to buy them.
  • The comment gained extra resonance because the festival was sponsored by Ray‑Ban and Blackpink’s Jennie, a Ray‑Ban Meta ambassador, performed on the same stage.
  • Meta’s consumer glasses, sold through its EssilorLuxottica partnership, are marketed to answer questions, play audio, and capture photos and video and are priced at about $299.
  • EssilorLuxottica reported selling more than 7 million AI‑enabled Ray‑Ban and Oakley glasses last year, even as other celebrities have publicly both promoted and denounced the devices.
  • Reports say Meta may be exploring a ‘super sensing’ always‑recording model, a development described as unconfirmed by the company that has intensified privacy advocates’ warnings about bystander surveillance and social stigma.