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New tech is cool. I genuinely love it. That is, if you’re willing to give a big F**k you to privacy with gadgets like meta glasses. Don’t get me wrong innovation is amazing and the fact that we live in a world where you can walk around with a computer on your face like you’re in Minority Report swiping through files and checking your messages while you grab a coffee, is pretty cool.
But here’s the question nobody seems to be asking.
Do the people building this stuff actually think about what happens when real humans use it in the real world? And do we — the consumers — think about the potential consequences before we hand over our money and our data and apparently our most private moments?
I’m not so sure we do.
Welcome to Thoughts Off The Stem. I’m Justin Barone and this week we need to talk about Meta glasses, Tesla batteries, wearable tech privacy and the fundamental disconnect between building something cool and thinking it all the way through.
Meta Glasses: Cool Concept, Terrifying Reality
Meta glasses are genuinely impressive technology. Wearable, stylish, functional — the most recent incarnation of a concept that’s been trying to work for years. And now they actually kind of do work which is both exciting and deeply concerning.
Here’s what nobody thought about.
When they’re on, they’re on. And they see everything.
If you’re wearing them while shaving your balls — that’s on file. If you forget to take them off before you head off to handle some personal business — congratulations, you just made POV content and it’s sitting on Meta’s servers right now.
If you’re recording with your face, you’d think — you’d think about that.
Apparently not.
I’ll be honest — when I was a kid I had to wear a heart monitor from time to time as part of my yearly checkups for a heart condition. And even then, as a kid, I was worried about what it would tell the doctors. Like why is your heart rate spiking at 10:30 at night? That’s nobody’s business.
Now imagine that same energy but it’s a camera. On your face. Connected to Meta’s servers. Worn by millions of people who didn’t fully read the terms and conditions.
What Meta Workers Are Actually Seeing
Here’s where it stops being funny and starts being genuinely disturbing.
Meta workers — specifically Kenyan subcontractor employees — have blown the whistle on what they’ve actually seen while reviewing footage captured through users smart glasses. And the Dude For Real segment this week pulled directly from their accounts.
| What Meta Workers Reported | The Reality |
|---|---|
| Users going to the toilet or getting undressed on camera | People wearing the glasses without realizing they’re recording |
| A man leaving glasses on a bedside table — wife undresses in frame | Accidental recording of private moments without consent |
| “We see everything — from living rooms to naked bodies” | Meta has this content in its databases right now |
| Workers told not to question what they see or they’ll be fired | No accountability for what’s being stored or reviewed |
| Two US citizens filed a lawsuit in San Francisco against Meta | False advertising and disregarding privacy laws |
| Meta being investigated by multiple governments | The pervert glasses problem is now an international issue |
Two US citizens have filed a lawsuit in San Francisco accusing Meta of false advertising and disregarding privacy laws. Multiple governments are now investigating. And somewhere in Meta’s servers there is content that people recorded without having any idea they were recording it.
They’re calling them the pervert glasses now. Which honestly feels about right.
Tesla Batteries and the $25,000 Surprise
Meta glasses aren’t the only example of consumers not thinking things through. Let’s talk about Tesla for a second.
A few years ago first generation Tesla owners started showing up at dealerships and getting hit with a $25,000 repair bill for battery replacement. And a lot of them were genuinely shocked.
Here’s my take — that’s on the consumer.
When I buy a car there are a few things I want to know. What does the service maintenance plan look like? How long will this car last? Should I worry about mechanical issues including the engine?
When you buy a Tesla you are buying an electronic device. A very expensive, very large electronic device. And the most basic question you ask when buying any electronic device is — what happens when the battery dies?
People didn’t ask that question. And then they were blindsided by a bill the size of a used car.
The Disconnect: Developers vs Consumers
Here’s the pattern I keep seeing and it applies to Meta glasses, Tesla batteries, and honestly most technology that causes problems after launch.
| What They’re Great At | What They Generally Suck At | |
|---|---|---|
| Developers | Building cool innovative technology | Thinking about real world human use beyond the tech goal |
| Consumers | Fixating on new shiny things | Thinking about real world consequences before buying |
Developers are brilliant at solving technical problems. They are generally not great at asking “but what happens when a regular person uses this in their bedroom at 11pm without thinking about it?”
Consumers are great at wanting the newest thing first. They are generally not great at asking “but what are the actual long term implications of this purchase?”
The result is Meta glasses on Meta servers and $25,000 battery bills and a lawsuit in San Francisco and a bunch of very uncomfortable Kenyan subcontractors who have seen things they cannot unsee.
Weed Facts: Can Technology Actually Detect Cannabis Impairment?
Since we’re talking about tech this week the Weed Facts segment goes there too — because there’s actually some genuinely impressive new technology being developed specifically to detect cannabis impairment. And it’s more accurate than you might think.
The challenge with cannabis impairment testing has always been that THC doesn’t work like alcohol. The amount of THC in your body is not directly correlated with impairment — THC and its metabolites can stay in your system for an extended period, making it impossible to tell from a blood test whether someone is currently impaired or just consumed cannabis days ago.
Enter Gaize.
| The Problem | The Gaize Solution |
|---|---|
| THC levels in blood don’t indicate current impairment | Eye movement tests detect real time impairment regardless of when cannabis was consumed |
| Human drug recognition officers are subjective — 60-85% accuracy | Automated VR headset testing removes human error |
| Traditional tests can’t distinguish past use from current impairment | Pupillary reflex and ocular motion analysis detects active impairment only |
| No portable rapid testing solution existed | Gaize is rapid, portable and automated |
| Officers can be wrong | Gaize boasts 98% accuracy |
Gaize runs the same eye tests that police officers use — high precision ocular motion and pupillary reflex analysis — through a VR headset using Tobii eye tracking technology. It measures subtle changes in eye movement that indicate impairment with 98% accuracy.
Your eyes tell on you every time. Apparently even when your glasses are recording things they shouldn’t be.
Think Before You Wear It
Here’s the bottom line.
Technology is going to keep advancing faster than our ability to think through all the consequences. That’s not going to change. But the gap between what developers build and what consumers actually do with it in the real world is a gap that’s causing real problems — privacy violations, lawsuits, $25,000 repair bills and a lot of footage on Meta’s servers that nobody consented to share.
Think before you buy. Read the terms and conditions. Ask what happens when the battery dies. And for the love of everything — if you’re going to wear a camera on your face, think about where that camera is pointing.
If you’re recording with your face you’d think — you’d think about that.
Those are my thoughts off the stem. 🍃
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Give A Big F**k You to Privacy with Meta Glasses is out now on Spotify and YouTube.
We go deeper on the Meta privacy lawsuit, the Tesla battery disaster, Gaize impairment technology and the full Dude For Real breakdown of what Meta workers have actually seen through users smart glasses.
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