Why Do You Know That About Me? - Ethical Implications of Pervasive AR And Face Recognition

Smart, pervasive Augmented Reality (AR) glasses are making their way out of the research labs. Many big tech companies are working on developing these promising next-generation interaction devices, and apps and services around them. When integrated with emerging face recognition technologies (FRT), Pervasive AR glasses can become powerful everyday tools. However, little is known about their acceptance, perceptual, and ethical ramifications. To address this, we developed a Pervasive AR technology probe with functional FRT and conducted an empirical study with 54 participants in a public environment. We collected interview data regarding perceived ethics about combining Pervasive AR with FRT. We developed five dominant themes informing the potential concerns and characteristics. Based on those findings, we propose to develop future Pervasive AR systems around principles of symmetry and consent—what we call a Kantian approach. We hope that our research will inform the design and development of near-future smart glasses.