Google Glass: The future of privacy and wearable technology

Google's latest device creates a brave new world for personal computing

Google Glass opens up new questions for how developers build apps and how end users interact with evolving mobile technology.

Aside from a list of new apps that will be made for the device, Google failed to issue any major updates on Glass at this year's I/O keynote. The lack of guidance opens up the door for many to wonder just what the future of the device will be.

Much is still up in the air when it comes to the future of Google's augmented reality headwear, not least when it comes to the privacy challenges it will face.

The concept of wearable computing has been around for a long time. TV shows like Star Trek have constantly touted the idea of a wearable computer as a technology of the future.

But the implications of an always-on, wearable camera and computer brings up many issues in the present. According to Gartner research analyst Brian Blau, the actual use cases of a product such as Google Glass still are not completely known. He said the idea of Google Glass is still more interesting than its actual usability.

"Google has almost single handedly renewed the interest in wearable computing and raised the hype around it," Blau told V3.

"The question is, 'is there something real behind it?'. They say they are going to release a product this year but how expensive is it going to be? What are the killer apps that are going to be there? How useful is it?"

Forrester senior analyst Sarah Rotman Epps tends to agree with Blau's assessment. She told V3 that she worried Google Glass might not live up to consumer expectations in their current form.

"I've tried them and I liked them, but it doesn't do a lot of what consumers want them to do in terms of augmented reality," she said. Rather, Google Glass offers users the ability to see information in the upper corner of the Glasses in a bid to keep them more present within their surroundings.

Keeping users in the moment has been one of Google's big selling points for the device. The search giant says that the product allows users to stay present instead of always looking down at a smartphone and phasing out their surroundings.

Google Glass: The future of privacy and wearable technology

Google's latest device creates a brave new world for personal computing

In that regard, Rotman Epps said the device does its job well. She told V3 that she was able to use Glass to send a text while walking down the street. The Forrester analyst said that the action let her stay better aware of her surroundings than if she was typing on a smartphone.

Another potential problem for the device lies with just how consumers decide to use them. Politicians in Washington recently reached out to Google founder Larry Page in a bid to better understand the potential privacy risks of Google Glass.

According to Jay Stanley, the American Civil Liberties Union's senior policy analyst for speech, privacy and technology, privacy concerns for the device will focus more on manners than laws.

"What may be new [about Google Glass] is it has the potential to make a recording of individuals without their permission a constant thing," Stanley told V3. "I think that a lot of the action will be around not law but etiquette. Will this be something that people accept?"

He believes that Glass could harm individual privacy by allowing users to record the public without their knowledge.

Stanley points out that the current generation of Google Glass has a light that turns on when the device is recording video. However, developers have already discovered a hack to leave the light off all the time.

The hack points to one of the biggest parts of Glass's future – people will always find a way to circumvent Google's rules or government actions. The strongest way to prevent harmful actions performed with Google Glass is to create social norms that dictate what is wrong and right.

It is still early days in Google Glass's lifespan. Much will need to be done to address issues the technology may have with society; it will be important for users and developers to find ways to use the device to work with society and not against it.

Google Glass holds potential, but how that potential will be used is not known yet. Hopefully the answer will become clearer as users and developers begin to test the devices in greater quantities. But right now, it's too early to know.