Harvard Students Create AI-Powered Glasses Identifying Strangers In Seconds

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Key Takeaways

• Two Harvard students, AnhPhu Nguyen and Caine Ardayfio, developed a project called I-XRAY, which uses Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses, AI, and facial recognition to identify strangers and pull their personal information in real-time.

• I-XRAY uses Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses to capture live video, which is streamed to Instagram. A custom program monitors the stream, detects faces, and runs them through PimEyes, a facial recognition search engine. Once a face is matched to online images, a large language model (LLM) scrapes public databases—like voter records or people-search sites such as FastPeopleSearch—to compile details like names, addresses, phone numbers, and even relatives’ names. The results appear on the user’s phone in about 20-90 seconds.

• Nguyen and Ardayfio insist I-XRAY was a “public awareness campaign,” not a product for release. They wanted to show how easily accessible tech—smart glasses, facial recognition, LLMs, and public data—could be combined to invade privacy. Their Google Doc outlining the project emphasizes that “bad actors” already know these techniques, so exposing them empowers the public to protect themselves.

When we think of artificial intelligence (AI), it is typically confined to our smartphones, computers, or even self-driving cars. But now, AI is moving beyond these devices and integrating into something as simple as sunglasses.

One of the most exciting examples is the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, which are not just sunglasses but a bridge between technology, fashion, and everyday life. These come with a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera for capturing high-quality photos and videos, and you can even live stream directly to platforms like Instagram or Facebook without pulling out your phone.

But with all the innovation going on, there is always a flip side. Recently, two Harvard students made us rethink wearable tech by turning the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses into a surveillance tool, sparking serious privacy concerns.

The I-XRAY Project

They released a video on their X account of this side project, which they call I-XRAY. During their experiment, they streamed the glasses live video feed to a computer program that used reverse image search to identify people's faces.

With the help of AI, the glasses were able to pull publicly available personal information, including names, addresses, and phone numbers, from social media and online databases, exposing how easily this technology can be misused.

AnhPhu Nguyen, a junior at Harvard, explained that the glasses were created as part of a “public awareness campaign” rather than a commercial product. The goal was to demonstrate how readily available technology can be combined to pose a serious threat to personal privacy:

The students emphasized that they never intended to release the software and made it clear the project was purely a demonstration of what is technically possible. They also stated that they have no plans to release the code publicly.

Protecting Yourself From Surveillance Risks

The two students even made efforts to share a detailed guide on protecting yourself from potential surveillance threats. These include removing your information from reverse images and people search engines.

Additionally, they highlight methods to prevent identity theft, such as safeguarding your personal information from data breaches, especially Social Security number (SSN) data dump leaks.

Meta Responds

In response to concerns, Meta has stated that the glasses are designed with privacy in mind, as each pair comes with an LED light that turns on when the camera is recording. 

However, critics argue that the indicator is too small and easily overlooked, especially in daylight, allowing people to record or capture content without others knowing.

Final Thoughts

With all of these going on, it is actually up to us to recognize the power of this technology. The glasses created by the two Harvard Juniors offer a glimpse into the future of wearable tech, but they come with the responsibility to use them wisely.

As AI becomes more integrated into our daily lives, we must address the challenge of protecting our privacy in a world where technology is literally right in front of our eyes.