Ray-Ban Meta Glasses: Certain AI functions now also available in Europe

The US company Meta has started to roll out certain AI functions for users of its Ray-Ban Meta AR glasses in France, Italy, Ireland and Spain. Since Monday, users in these countries have been able to interact with Meta's AI assistant, Meta AI, by using their voice to get answers to common questions. As part of this update, Meta AI will now be available in French, Italian and Spanish in addition to English. Meta announced this in a blog post.

With Meta AI on the Ray-Ban Meta glasses, people can ask questions on the go and "receive answers and information, recommendations or even creative writing suggestions in real time", is how Meta advertises its new feature. However, the option to receive answers to questions about what users see, e.g. "Hey Meta, tell me more about this landmark", is still not available outside the USA, Australia and Canada.

European regulation as a brake

This also has to do with the fact that data protection regulations in the European Union (EU) are much more restrictive, for example in the European AI Act, which creates a legal and regulatory framework for artificial intelligence (AI). In addition, there are the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the EU data protection law, which relate to AI training.

Meta trains its AI models, including those that control the functions of the Ray-Ban Meta glasses, with posts and images posted publicly on Facebook and Instagram. However, this so-called "scraping" is not permitted in the EU. In June, Meta called off its AI training with data under the GDPR for the time being after Ireland's data protection authority asked the Zuckerberg Group not to use data from Instagram and Facebook for the algorithm training of its large language models. Meta users in the EU were previously able to object to the use of their own data (opt-out) using an objection form.

Since the market launch in September 2023, Meta has worked "tirelessly" to ensure that Ray-Ban Meta glasses comply with the complex European regulatory system, Meta now explained. It added: "We are delighted to now be able to offer Meta AI and its innovative features in parts of the EU, and we look forward to expanding into other European countries soon."

Meta's Ray-Ban Glasses popular even without AI

Even without AI, Ray-Ban Meta glasses were a bestseller. They were the best-selling glasses in 60 percent of Ray-Ban stores in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

The smart AR glasses, which were developed in cooperation between Meta and Ray-Ban, have been available for more than a year. It follows on from the Ray-Ban Stories, which were able to take videos and photos. The Ray-Ban Meta Glasses also have speakers, a microphone and a touchpad in the temples. Users can listen to music or take calls with them. Two Harvard students have even managed to identify strangers on the street by looking at them. This is likely to further fuel the debate about data protection standards for AR glasses, such as the Ray-Ban Meta Glasses.

(akn)