The Google Glass Is Set To Come Back From the Dead

The whispers of a comeback have begun. At its recent I/O keynote, Google hinted at a potential Lazarus act for Google Glass, the augmented reality (AR) wearable that flopped commercially over a decade ago. This time, however, the magic ingredient could be Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Project Astra, Google’s ambitious attempt at artificial general intelligence (AGI), stole the show at I/O 2024. This technology, seemingly a contender to OpenAI’s multimodal GPT-4, combines the capabilities of Google’s existing large language model, Gemini, with natural language processing and real-time image recognition. A demo showcased Project Astra’s versatility – identifying components of a speaker, crafting playful alliterations, deciphering code snippets, and even pinpointing the user’s location based on a glimpse from an office window. But the most intriguing part? A Google employee donned a pair of eyeglasses during the presentation, hinting at Project Astra’s potential as a wearable experience.

Google’s higher-ups seem to be on the same page. Co-founder Sergey Brin believes Project Astra is a perfect fit for wearables. “Hands-free is the future,” he declared. “Imagine needing information while cooking, playing sports, or simply exploring – reaching for your phone would be a hassle. A wearable with this capability eliminates that hurdle.” Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, echoed Brin’s sentiment. “Project Astra works wonders on phones,” he said, “but it might find its ultimate home in other form factors like wearables. When these systems mature, exploring different formats becomes crucial. Glass, in that regard, seems like an obvious candidate.” Brin went a step further, calling Project Astra a “killer app” for AI wearables and Glass the “perfect hardware” for AGI.

Is this a concrete plan for a Glass revival, or just a nostalgic nod to a past project? The answer remains shrouded in mystery. However, a return of Glass would position Google directly against Meta in the wearable AI race. Meta’s Ray-Ban Meta glasses, already on the market, utilize AI to offer similar features like providing factual information about a user’s surroundings. While Meta faced early criticism regarding the accuracy of Ray-Ban Meta’s educational features, Project Astra seems to be in a similar development stage. Engadget writers who tested the program reported that it would “be a while” before Google’s AGI reaches its full potential. Perhaps, then, these two applications are destined to become rivals in the burgeoning wearable AI market. Only time will tell if Google Glass truly gets a second chance, but one thing’s for sure: the future of wearables seems to be getting smarter, and the battle for dominance has just begun.