The creators of Ray-Ban and Meta smart glasses were caught spying (2 photos)
When training AI systems for smart glasses, company employees are forced to watch videos of wearers undressing or using the restroom. 
Employees of the Kenyan company Sama, a Meta contractor, claimed to see everything Ray-Ban smartglasses wearers do. This was discovered by journalists from the Swedish publication Svenska Dagbladet.
The authors of the investigation spoke with more than 30 company employees and found that when training AI systems for smart glasses, they are forced to watch a stream of videos made by wearers.
"Sometimes the video shows a person going to the bathroom or undressing. I don't think they know they're recording," said one employee. Other employees said the footage sometimes shows bank cards, home interiors, and other private information. They said such recordings can accidentally leak into the system when people wear glasses in everyday life.
The employees call themselves "data annotators": they manually tag objects in images and videos to train algorithms to recognize objects, people, and actions. This work, according to the employees, is the foundation of AI training. 
Employees surveyed said they signed strict non-disclosure agreements and feared losing their jobs if they spoke publicly about their activities. They said many prefer not to ask unnecessary questions to protect their source of income.
Smart glasses, created jointly by Meta and Ray-Ban, are positioned as a device capable of taking photos and videos, translating foreign languages, and assisting users with everyday tasks. Mark Zuckerberg presented the device in the fall of 2025.
