While concerns over Google Glass' surveillance capabilities may be grossly overstated, it's what's on the other side of the plastic lens that could truly make the face-computer of the future a go-to gadget for creeps.
Enter MiKandi (NSFW if you Google it), an Android app maker that specializes in fulfilling our insatiable need to see other human beings naked. The adult entertainment company is working on what's considered to be the first porn app for Glass, which, all things considered, should come as a surprise to absolutely no one.
The app would reportedly not only let Glass wearers watch porn, but film it, too. Here's MiKandi co-founder Jennifer McEwen speaking with ZDNet:
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Obviously, Glass is perfect for shooting POV video, so we're experimenting with that first. But what's really interesting about Glass is that it's not just a hands free camera. It can receive and send data, so there are a lot of interesting interactions that we want to explore. [ZDNet]
So what makes Glass different from, say, a GoPro adventure cam? "It's so easy and familiar to wear, that from a shooter's perspective it feels like you're recording with your own eyes," says McEwen. "Because it feels so natural, you can forget about the technology and just be in the moment."
Aside from gazing into a lover's eyes crowned with a glorified Bluetooth, McEwen notes that Glass' added dimension will allow stars and starlets to "share and interact with fans and followers" in new and intimate ways. "It's like being John Malkovich where you're viewing the world through someone else's eyes," says McEwen.
All of this depends on how strict Google will be about policing Glass' ecosystem. Unlike Apple's draconian control over the App Store, which explicitly bars adult material, nearly anything goes in Android. (Although it has been cleaning up its act.)
On the other hand, Glass is already facing intense scrutiny from critics, and Google has already shown that it's willing to be unusually heavy-handed to ensure its prized innovation makes it to the mainstream.
And if MiKandi's app gets the green light, it will raise all sorts of thorny ethical questions about our concepts of public and private space. What truly separates Glass from a smartphone screen is that we have no way of knowing what a user is peeking at behind the display. Glass will diminish our ability to socially police one another's behavior in the real world, stretching and redefining our notions of personal boundaries.
So yes, Glass will grant you the ability to watch X-rated material in public if you're the kind of person who'd like to. And in a sense, the most unnerving part is that we'll have no way of knowing.
