Researchers Highlight Power Imbalance Induced by ‘Smart’ Glasses Among Non-Wearers
Cornell researchers assert that someone donning augmented reality (AR) or “smart” glasses could be Googling your face, transforming you into a cat, or recording your conversation, which creates a significant imbalance of power.
Currently, the majority of AR eyewear research focuses on the wearer’s experience. Researchers from the Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science and Brown University are examining how this technology impacts the wearer’s interactions with others. Their research revealed that, despite the fact that the device generally reduced anxiety, things weren’t so pleasant on the other side of the spectacles.
Jenny Fu, a doctoral student in the field of information science, presented the findings of her new study, “Negotiating Dyadic Interactions through the Lens of Augmented Reality Glasses,” at the July 2023 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference.
AR spectacles overlay virtual objects and text on the user’s field of view to create a mixed-reality environment. Some designs are large and cumbersome, but as augmented reality (AR) technology advances, smart glasses are becoming indistinguishable from regular spectacles, raising concerns that a wearer may be covertly recording someone or creating deepfakes of their likeness.
Fu and co-author Malte Jung, an associate professor of information science and the Nancy H. ’62 and Philip M. ’62 Young Sesquicentennial Faculty Fellow, collaborated with Ji Won Chung, a doctoral student, and Jeff Huang, an associate professor of computer science at Brown, as well as Zachary Deocadiz-Smith, an independent extended reality designer, for the new study.
Five pairings of individuals, each consisting of a wearer and a non-wearer, were observed discussing a desert survival activity. Spectacles, a prototype pair of augmented reality (AR) spectacles, were loaned to the wearer by Snap Inc., the company behind Snapchat. The Spectacles resemble futuristic spectacles and were equipped for the study with a video camera and five filters that transformed the non-wearer into a deer, cat, bear, jester, or pig-bunny.
The couples then engaged in a participatory design session in which they discussed how AR glasses could be enhanced for both wearers and non-wearers. Participants were also invited to ruminate on their experiences during interviews.
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Balancing Power Dynamics and Social Interaction in AR Glasses: Insights from Wearers and Non-Wearers
The wearers reported that the entertaining filters reduced their apprehension and made them feel at ease during the exercise. The non-wearers, however, reported feeling powerless because they were unaware of what was occurring behind the lenses. Additionally, they were unhappy that the filters deprived them of control over their own appearance. The possibility that the wearer was secretly recording them without their consent placed the non-wearers at a disadvantage, particularly since they did not know what the wearer looked like.
However, the non-wearers were not entirely defenseless. Several individuals demanded to know what the wearer was seeing and moved their features or bodies to circumvent the filters, thereby gaining control over their presence in the invisible mixed-reality world. Fu remarked, “I think that’s the biggest takeaway I have from this study: I’m more powerful than I thought I was.”
As with many AR spectacles, the lenses of Spectacles are darkened so the wearer can see the projected virtual images. The researchers reported that this lack of transparency also diminished the character of social interactions.
“There is no direct eye contact, which makes people very confused, because they don’t know where the person is looking,” Fu said. “That makes their experiences of this conversation less pleasant, because the glasses blocked out all these nonverbal interactions.”
To create more positive experiences for those on both sides of the lenses, the participants of the study suggested that the designers of smart glasses include a projection display and a recording indicator light so that those nearby are aware of what the wearer sees and records.
Fu also recommends that designers evaluate their eyewear in a social setting and conduct a participatory design process similar to the one described in their study. She added that they should also regard these video interactions as a data source.
Thus, non-wearers will be able to participate in the creation of the forthcoming mixed-reality world.
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Source: techxplore