AI dementia glasses that prompt names sound smart but there’s a flaw | UK | News
Smart glasses are now so advanced with AI technology that they can tell you exactly what you’re looking at in real time. They can even identify people. You don’t need to go through every family member, dead or alive, before finding the right person. The culprit will loom over your bins while you bark at them for blocking the plug hole.
They can even nudge you when your houseplants need watering, alert you to how many calories are in the Greggs sausage roll you’re about to devour, or how sickly low your step count has been this week. Anything. As if we didn’t have enough screens, the entire internet can now be delivered directly to your eyeballs.
The data collected from our constantly wiretapped phones and laptops is scary enough. Imagine everything you see being harvested, shared, and naturally monetized over time. Take a look around and seconds later you’ll see ads for cleaners “in your area”. Or look in the mirror and hear a syrupy voice whisper: “Melt your frown away with Botox. You know, there’s a clinic ten minutes from here and there’s a spot open this afternoon. Blink twice and I’ll make a reservation for you.”
It may sound like hell, but smart glasses may have some benefits beyond cheating in pub exams. Equipped with cameras, voice recognition, microphones and vibrant displays, some tech companies are marketing them as a way to help people with dementia live more independently. Asking for the names of doctors and carers, giving directions to the nearest supermarket, even discussing how to make a cup of tea. It looks promising for those in the very early stages, but having a parent with dementia I detect a few fundamental flaws.
When I think of my dear old dad who couldn’t manage to turn on a light, I can imagine him getting confused and punching the air: “Who was that? What are those lights? Get those damn things off me.” So what happens when lenses inevitably get misplaced or crushed on the edge of the seat? My father used about 17 pairs of reading glasses a month. At £700 each, they must be not only clever but magical.
