Google's Internet glasses a window into isolation

In this undated handout photo provided by the Google[x] group's "Project Glass", an early prototype of Google's futuristic Internet-connected glasses, are modeled. The specs are said to give you directions, let you video chat, shop and do everything else you now need a handheld gadget to accomplish. Google gave a glimpse of “Project Glass” in a video and blog post this week. (AP Photo/Google) less In this undated handout photo provided by the Google[x] group's "Project Glass", an early prototype of Google's futuristic Internet-connected glasses, are modeled. The specs are said to give you directions, let ... more Photo: Associated Press Photo: Associated Press Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Google's Internet glasses a window into isolation 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Google provided its first peek at a secret venture into wearable computing this week, showing off glasses that insert the Internet between your eyes and the real world.

The prototype glasses, which include a small see-through screen, can display maps, take photos or even initiate video calls. At least, those are the hoped-for capabilities highlighted in a concept video the Mountain View Internet giant released Wednesday.

It shows a man going about his day but with the added benefit of pictures, information and menu buttons popping up in his field of vision, guiding him around the streets of Manhattan and through a bookstore.

My first reaction to seeing the video was, "Cool!" I marveled at the "Minority Report"-like technical achievement, which is hard to dispute.

What's debatable is whether this solves a real problem in our lives - and whether people really want the Internet, much as they may love it, continually suspended before their eyeballs. (As prominent tech blogger John Gruber noted, it's also questionable whether Google - with no track record in hardware - has the ability to deliver anything like the fun, fluid experience on display in the video, posted at bit.ly/HigurF.)

Letting technology decide

There's no information exchange or communication here that can't be accomplished on your smart phone. The sole apparent difference is that the Internet can now live directly in your field of view, saving you the lifting of an arm.

But in that small gesture resides an important distinction- between us deciding when we engage with technology and leaving it up to technology and its providers to make that decision on our behalf.

To be sure, I can imagine scenarios where this will be incredibly convenient - like, say, exiting an airport in an unfamiliar city with two arms busy lugging bags.

But in everyday life, is instantly getting the information we want so critical that we're willing to accept a continual stream of information we don't need along the way?

Self-described "pop culture hacker" Jonathan McIntosh quickly posted a remixed version of Google's video that inserted likely ads into the tech utopia rendered by the company. They included pop-ups for Starbucks when the guy is pouring his coffee, a McDonald's ad when he's biting into his breakfast and walking shoe suggestions when he reaches a closed subway station.

That, of course, is the likely price we'd pay for Google's guidance, just as we do for its handholding through the Internet. And that raises the obvious question: How much more personal data will Google be able to collect when we're wearing their sensors on our faces?

In its Google+ post accompanying the video, the company said of its Project Glass: "We think technology should work for you - to be there when you need it and get out of your way when you don't. A group of us from Google[x] started Project Glass to build this kind of technology, one that helps you explore and share your world, putting you back in the moment."

Huh? How is donning a pair of tech goggles that spits data at you getting out of your way and putting you back in the moment? That's like saying the solution to distracting technology is more distracting technology.

More distractions in sight

"There's some incredible Orwellian doublespeak at work here," wrote blogger Joe Stracci. "As far as I can tell, it doesn't help you to explore your world at all. It helps Google to explore your world."

Scientists and tech critics already worry that the growing pervasiveness of social media, e-mail, texts and chatting is driving us to distraction, pulling our attention in so many directions that it's harder to sustain focus, accomplish tasks and remember things. This surely just pushes us further in that direction.

"We know that our brains are very sensitive to interference, both distractions and multitasking," said Adam Gazzaley, director of the Neuroscience Imaging Center at UCSF, who studies these issues. "We have a lot to contend with already, and now we're talking about putting (more distractions) in your field of view all the time."

Gazzaley added that such glasses could also present real safety risks. He was particularly troubled by a scene in Google's video when the man was paying attention to information popping up in his glasses, just as he about to descend the steep steps to the subway.

"It's not just your eyes that have to be on the road in front of you, it's the brain," he said.

Another digital filter

But even if we're not tumbling down stairwells, inserting a digital filter between us and the world risks sacrificing something important about our daily interactions and experiences. We give away a little more of our ability to be present and engaged in meaningful ways.

A parody of the video produced by London tech pundit Tom Scott showed an experience with Project Glass that seemed a lot more credible than Google's.

As a guy walks down a city sidewalk, a message appears in the center of his view from an acquaintance: "Wanna meet up today?"

"Oh, no, not this a-hole," he says aloud.

Those words come up on the screen, followed by the message "sent."

"No, no, no, wait," the man says in a panic, before walking into a pole.