The Spectacle of Stupidity: My Two Cents on Meta’s Glasses
So, I’m reading this article, or trying to, on my phone – a device that’s essentially a glowing rectangle of regret, mind you – and it’s all about Meta and their ‘AI-powered spectacles.’ Now, I don’t know what an ‘AI-powered spectacle’ is, but it sounds like a real pain in the neck. Probably just another excuse for these Silicon Valley whippersnappers to spy on us while we’re trying to enjoy a decent cup of coffee without some digital assistant piping up about our cholesterol.
Back in my day, ‘spectacles’ were for seeing, not for beaming ads directly into your retina. And ‘AI’ was something you read about in science fiction novels, not something that promised to ‘enhance’ your reality. My reality is enhanced just fine, thank you very much, with a good book and the blessed absence of pop-up notifications about what my ‘friends’ had for lunch.
The Irony, Oh The Irony!
Now, the real kicker in this whole business is that Meta, with all its talk of American innovation and whatever else Zuckerberg spouts off about, is apparently still tied to some Chinese company for making these things. Goertek, they call it. Sounds like something out of a bad sci-fi movie. Here they are, huffing and puffing about being ‘anti-Beijing’ – probably so they can get a few more dollars out of Uncle Sam – but they can’t even make their own damn glasses without foreign help. It’s like building a battleship with a hammer you borrowed from your archenemy. It just doesn’t make a lick of sense.
Reminds me of when IBM used to manufacture everything in-house. We had quality control, we had standards. Now? It’s all outsourced, offshore, and probably made by robots designed by other robots in some factory you’ve never heard of. No wonder nothing works properly anymore. My printer takes longer to connect to the network than it did to launch the Apollo missions, and these kids think a pair of smart glasses is going to solve humanity’s problems. Please.
The Grand Illusion of ‘Progress’
They talk about ‘decoupling’ from these suppliers, but it’s like trying to decouple a barnacle from a whale. Once you’re latched on, you’re on there for the long haul, especially when you’ve designed your entire operation around cheap labor and even cheaper ethical considerations. It’s a house of cards, built on the shifting sands of global supply chains and the fleeting whims of venture capitalists.
And what’s the end goal of all this? More ‘engagement’? More ‘data points’? I’ve got data points coming out of my ears just from trying to navigate the DMV website. We’re drowning in information, most of it useless, and these ‘smart’ devices are just going to add to the deluge. We’re not getting smarter; we’re just getting more distracted. Give me a command line and a cup of coffee, and I’ll show you real productivity. These kids with their ‘AI-powered spectacles’ are just wearing expensive blinders, too busy looking at augmented reality to notice the real world passing them by.
Conclusion: A Blinkered Future?
So, Meta wants to make glasses that show us a different reality while they struggle with the very real reality of their supply chain. It’s a comedic tragedy, really. We’re hurtling towards a future where people will walk into lampposts because their glasses are showing them a virtual dragon, all while the people who made those glasses are struggling to get the lenses from halfway around the world. It’s a clown show, plain and simple. And I, for one, am not buying a ticket. I’ll stick to my flip phone, thank you very much. At least it doesn’t try to sell me real estate in the metaverse.