Mark Zuckerberg says if you aren't wearing AI on your face you'll be at a societal disadvantage

In a recent earnings call, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg discussed the future and how AI will be integrated into our everyday lives, specifically with a device that enables the AI to see what we see, hear what we hear, and speak directly to us.

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That device is smart glasses, or AI-infused smart glasses. Zuckerberg believes that in the future, if you don't have AI smart glasses or some way to immediately interact with AI, "probably [going to be] at a pretty significant cognitive disadvantage compared to other people." This take from Zuckerberg isn't surprising, and when looking ahead, generally it does make sense for smart glasses to be the device to one day make the smartphone obsolete, given the small form factor, familiarity with the form factor, and already established societal integration.

However, for smartphones to be made obsolete, the glasses would need to at the very least do everything a standard smartphone can do, while maintaining a similar price. The tech just isn't there yet, but Meta is working on that. Meta has been working on smart glasses such as its Ray-Ban Meta glasses and Oakley Meta glasses that enable users to listen to music, take photos and videos, and ask Meta AI questions about what they are looking at in real life.

"I think in the future, if you don't have glasses that have AI - or some way to interact with AI - I think you're ... probably [going to] be at a pretty significant cognitive disadvantage compared to other people," said Zuckerberg

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Zuckerberg's bet on AI-infused smart glasses doesn't come without its costs, as the Reality Labs division, formerly Oculus VR, which is responsible for the development of the displays in the glasses is a black hole for money at Meta, with the division reporting an operating loss of $4.53 billion in the second quarter, and $70 billion of losses since 2020. It hasn't come without its ups, though, as the Ray-Ban Meta glasses have turned into a money-maker for the company, with sales of the product tripling year-over-year.