Sergey Brin talks about Google Glass at TED2013

Google Glass will control the Internet of Things “As the first apps start to come out for Google’s augmented reality glasses, we’re starting to see how viewing the world and consuming digital content could be transformed. You can capture photos and videos and send them to your friends with a simple gesture, or scan the New York Times headlines without moving a finger. But perhaps the real breakthrough app for Google Glass wouldn’t be about content consumption at all, but about control.” The real breakthrough of Google Glass: controlling the internet of things. The website Engadget found out about a new patent by Google, that “the headwear will apparently use visual identification, RFID, infra-red, Bluetooth and even QR codes as methods for recognizing controllable devices. Once your well-designed head-mounted display picks up a target, it would then pull down information related to the object, including a control interface. These “superimposed controls” would then hover over the real-life objects (which would need to be WiFi-connected or otherwise), with garage doors and refrigerators both referenced as possibilities.” Problems with Google Glass Not everybody is happy with the new product from Google. There are some worries. The new Google Glass isn´t even on the market and already their is a lawmaker from Virgina that proposes legislation that would prohibit people from wearing products like Google Glass while driving. Texting behind the wheel could be just as dangerous as being a quarter over the drink-drive limit. There is even a Stop the Cyborgs website. The goal of the website is “fighting the algorithmic future one bit at a time”. “Gradually people will stop acting as autonomous individuals, when making decisions and interacting with others, and instead become mere sensor/effector nodes of a global network. There will be no room for multiple identities, hypocrisy or experimentation. There will be no space in which you can escape your online profile and the system will be controlled by a small group of corporations.” Conclusion It is interesting to see in what kind of future we will live. Will it be an utopia or will it be the opposite: a dystope? Will the government become the new Big Brother or will Google Glass make everybody a little brother?