Mark Zuckerberg faced glitches during the launch of Meta’s new US$800 AI-powered Ray-Ban glasses. Photo / Getty Images
Mark Zuckerberg faced glitches during the launch of Meta’s new US$800 AI-powered Ray-Ban glasses. Photo / Getty Images
A launch event for Meta’s new artificial intelligence (AI) glasses left Mark Zuckerberg red-faced this week as glitches disrupted his on-stage demonstration.
Attempts to show off hands-free calling through the US$800 ($1360) Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses were aborted after the billionaire Facebook founder failed to take a video call threetimes.
In another segment, Jack Mancuso, a chef and influencer, asked his AI glasses to help with a recipe for a Korean steak sauce.
Following the mishap, which took place at a launch event in California, Zuckerberg told the audience: “I don’t know what to tell you guys. We will go to the next thing and hope that will work.
“The irony of the whole thing is you spend years making technology and the Wi-Fi of the day kind of catches you [out].”
The blunders during the live event came as Meta revealed new AI-powered glasses with a tiny built-in screen that can be used to read messages, follow a map or take video calls.
The wearer controls the display with tiny gestures that are picked up by a wristband – or “neural band”.
This EMG – or electromyography – band can detect tiny muscle movements such as pinches or flicks that are then used to navigate a display that only the user sees.
Meta has said the new glasses are designed to allow the user to “look up and stay in the present”.
The glasses can connect to Meta’s AI chatbot, which can take voice commands or be controlled through their hands-free display. They also feature a built-in camera for video-calling.
The screen can be used to display AI images, livestream videos, or to privately check messages on WhatsApp.
The glasses, featuring a built-in screen and AI chatbot, failed to perform hands-free calling and recipe assistance. Photo / Getty Images
Zuckerberg has bet tens of billions of dollars on the so-called Metaverse, a blend of social media and virtual reality.
The company’s experimental Reality Labs division has spent US$100 billion on the technology.
Its products have included its Quest line of virtual reality headsets and AI-linked glasses.
The Ray-Bans, with a built-in screen and an AI chatbot, attempt to unify Zuckerberg’s vision of “personal superintelligence” and give wearers the ability to link up to AI chatbots without getting out their phone.
He has bet that smart glasses could augment traditional smartphones and offer a new area of growth for the tech giant. On top of its display glasses, Meta also revealed new sports-focused AI glasses with sports apparel brand Oakley.
“Technology needs to get out of the way,” Zuckerberg said.
