AnhPhu Nguyen and Caine Ardayfio developed a tool called I-XRAY, utilizing Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses to automatically identify and retrieve detailed personal information about strangers.
This system combines facial recognition, AI, and data scraping to extract personal details like names, addresses, and Social Security numbers from the web. Their project was demonstrated in a video where they approached strangers in public, using information from their setup to address people by name and reference personal details.
Are we ready for a world where our data is exposed at a glance? @CaineArdayfio and I offer an answer to protect yourself here:https://t.co/LhxModhDpk pic.twitter.com/Oo35TxBNtD
— AnhPhu Nguyen (@AnhPhuNguyen1) September 30, 2024
The I-XRAY system streams live video from the smart glasses to Instagram, where AI tools pull publicly available information. The students said they built the system to raise awareness of potential privacy risks and have no plans to release the code.
This raises concerns about privacy violations, particularly with Meta’s smart glasses, which are almost indistinguishable from regular eyewear.
Meta, in response, reiterated that users must follow privacy laws when using the Facebook View app for recording, but these recent developments highlight the need for better safeguards.
Nguyen and Ardayfio’s project underscores potential dangers, as someone could misuse the technology to track individuals, exposing serious risks in public settings. The students have shared resources for people to remove their personal data from public sources used by I-XRAY.
This demonstration comes amid growing scrutiny of how smart glasses could infringe on individual privacy, especially when coupled with advanced AI tools.
