Meta To Add Display To Ray-Bans As Race Over Smart Glasses Intensifies

Meta

Meta plans to add displays to its Ray-Ban smart glasses as soon as next year, as the US tech giant accelerates its plans to build lightweight headsets that can usurp the smartphone as consumers’ main computing device, Financial Times reported.

The $1.5tn social media group is planning to add a screen inside the $300 sunglasses it makes and sells in partnership with eyesore group EssilorLuxottica, according to people familiar with the plans.

The updated Ray-Bans could be released as early as the second half of 2025, the people said. The small display would be likely used to show notifications or responses from Meta’s virtual assistant.

The move comes as Meta pushes further into wearable devices and what chief executive Mark Zuckerberg hopes will be the next computing platform, as rivals such as Apple, Google, and Snap also race to develop their own similar products.

In September, Meta unveiled its augmented-reality glasses prototype Orion. According to people familiar with the matter, the company has accelerated Orion’s development following the enthusiastic response of early testers.

These people said Meta has brought forward plans to turn the device into a consumer product, though any release is still likely to be years away.

Engadget reported: It looks like Meta is preparing to add displays to its popular line of Ray-Ban smart glasses. These screens could show up in a future iteration of the device as early as next year. The likely release window is the second half of 2025.

According to folks familiar with Meta’s plans, the screens will be on the smaller side and will likely be used to display notifications or responses from Meta’s AI virtual assistant. It’s highly unlikely that the company is planning on making this a full mixed-reality device just yet.

For that, Meta has the recently-unveiled Orion AR glasses, which are still several years out. The same report indicates that the positive response to the Orion glasses has likely accelerated development and possibly ensured a commercial release. It was uncertain if those glasses would remain an in-house prototype.

9To5Mac reported: Ray-Ban Meta have been the most successful smart glasses to date, offering an appealing mix of features in a form factor which is visually indistinguishable from normal sunglasses.

So far, all of the AI functionality, notifications, and messaging features have relied on the glasses reading things to you through integrated speakers, but a new report says a future model will get a display, and that it could launch as early as next year.

Meta showed off an early prototype of its Orion AR glasses back in the summer. While they are undeniably clunky, and reputedly have a manufacturing cost of $10,000, they did provide a persuasive look at what we can one day expect in something that looks and feels more like the company’s existing smart glasses.

In my opinion, people who want to use Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses will have to wait for a while before they can purchase them.

Albania Bans TikTok For A Year After Killing Of Teenager

TikTok

Albania on Saturday announced a one-year ban on TikTok, the popular short video app, following the killing of a teenager last month that raised fears over the influence of social media on children, Reuters reported.

The ban, part of a broader plan to make schools safer, will come into effect early next year, Prime Minister Edi Rama said after meeting with parents’ groups and teachers from across the country.

“For one year, we’ll be completing shutting it down for everyone. There will be no TikTok in Albania.,” Rama said. 

Several European countries including France, Germany, and Belgium have enforced restrictions on social media use for children. In one of the world’s toughest regulations targeting Big Tech, Australia approved in November a complete social media ban for children under 16.

Rama has blamed social media, and TikTok in particular, for fueling violence among youth in and outside school.

His government’s decision come after a 14-year-old schoolboy was stabbed to death in November by a fellow pupil. Local media had reported that the incident followed arguments between the two boys on social media. Videos had also amerced on TikTok of minors supporting the killing.

The Hill reported: Albania’s prime minister said the country will be banning TikTok for one year, citing violence and bullying among children after a teenager died.

Prime Minister Edi Rama said the app would be “fully closed for all,” and there will “be no TikTok in the Republic of Albania,” The shutdown will begin sometime in 2025.

The Hill has reached out for comment, but in a statement to the AP, the company said it was asking for “urgent clarity from the Albanian government” about the case involving an Albanian teenager.

A 14-year-old teenager was stabbed to death in November by a fellow schoolmate. Local media reported the incident happened after arguments on social media and other videos emerged supporting the murder.

The banning is part of a larger effort to make schools safer. Authorities have held more than 1,000 meetings with teachers and parents since the death.

BBC reported: Albania’s prime minister has announced the government intends to block access to TikTok for one year after the killing of a schoolboy last month raised fears about the influence of social media on children.

Speaking on Saturday Edi Rama declared the proposed ban would start in January.

TikTok said it is seeking urgent clarifications from the Albanian government about the proposed ban.

The social media platform told the BBC it had found no evidence the person who had allegedly stabbed the 14-year-old boy, or the victim himself, had TikTok accounts.

During a meeting in Albania’s capital Tirana with teachers, parents and psychologists Rama branded TikTok as “the thug of the neighborhood.”

In my opinion, I think that this violent incident is scary, especially for parents who don’t want TikTok to cause their teens harm.

Google Proposes Alternative Remedies For Search Monopoly

google

Google has filed a proposal outlining how it would remedy the antitrust violation it’s been accused of by the Department of Justice, after the DOJ called for Google to sell off Chrome and face restrictions that would prevent it from favoring its own search engine in Android, Engadget reported.

Judge Amit Mehta of the US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in August that Google has violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act, and called Google “a monopolist.” 

Google said in the proposal filed on Friday night that it disagreed with the ruling but suggested ways to make its contacts with browser companies and Android device makers more flexible.

In a blog post summarizing the filing, Google’s VP of regulatory affairs Lee-Ann Mulhollalland wrote that the proposal would let browser companies like Apple and Mozilla “continue to offer Google Search to their users and earn revenue from that partnership,” while allowing them to have “multiple default agreements across different platforms (e.g., a different default search engine for iPhones and iPads) and growing modes.” 

Google says it plans to appeal the judge’s decision ahead of a hearing in April, and will submit a revised proposal on March 7. 

Google posted on The Keyword: We strongly disagree with and will appeal the decision in the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) search distribution lawsuit.

As the Court found, Google achieved its popularity and success through innovation: by building the best search engine and making smart investment and business decisions, like our early investment in mobile. People don’t use Google because they have to — they use it because they want to.

And what’s more, the landscape the Court evaluated is highly dynamic. Since the trial ended over one year ago, AI has already rapidly reshaped the industry, with new entrants and new ways of finding information making it even more competitive.

Today, we filed our own proposal based on the actual findings in the Court’s decision. This was a decision about our search distribution contracts, so our proposed remedies are directed to that.

TechCrunch reported: Google has offered up its own proposal in a recent antitrust case that saw the US Department of Justice argue that Google must sell its Chrome browser.

US District Court Judge Amit Mehta ruled in August that Google had acted illegally to maintain a monopoly in online search, with the DOJ then proposing a number of remedies, including the sale of Chrome, the spinoff of its Android operating system, and a prohibition on entering into exclusionary search agreements with browser and phone companies.

As an alternative, Google proposes that it still be allowed to make search deals with companies like Apple and Mozilla, but they should have the option to set different defaults on different platforms (for example, iPhone vs iPad) and in different browsing modes.

In my opinion, it sounds like the U.S. Department of Justice wants Google to sell off Crome. I suspect this is going to be an interesting court case.

OpenAI Unveils o3 and o3-Mini Trained To “Think” Before Responding

AI

OpenAI saved its biggest announcement for the last day of its 12-day “shipmas” event, TechCrunch reported.

On Friday, the company unveiled o3, the successor to the o1 “reasoning” model it released earlier in the year. O3 is a model family, to be more precise — as was the case with o1. There’s o3 and o3-mini, a smaller, distilled model fine-tuned for particular tasks.

OpenAI makes the remarkable claim that o3, at least in certain conditions, approached AGI — with significant caveats.

Why call the new model o3, not o2? Well, trademarks may be to blame. According to The Information, OpenAI skipped o2 to avoid a potential conflict with British telecom provider O2. Sam Altman somewhat confirmed this during a livestream this morning. 

Neither o3 nor o3-mini are widely available yet, but safety researchers can sign up for a preview for o3-mini starting today. An o3 preview will arrive sometime after; OpenAI didn’t specify when. Altman said that the plan is to launch o3-mini toward the end of January.

NBC News reported: OpenAI’s “12 days of Shipmas” which wrapped up on Friday, brought a sense of levity to end the year. The marketing blitz served as a way for the high-profile and controversial AI startup to show it can release an extensive roster of new features and tools while also having fun.

But when the calendar turns, the company faces some serious challenges. Most notably, there’s co-founder Elon Musk, who now runs rival startup xAI, and is in the midst of a heated legal battle with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman that could have a big impact on the company’s future.

The threat Musk poses to OpenAI is even more significant considering the hefty amount of influence the world’s richest person is poised to assume as part of the incoming Trump administration.

The pressure on OpenAI is tied in large part to its $157 billion valuation, achieved in the two years since the company launched its viral chatbot, ChatGPT, and kicked off the boom in generative AI.

ArsTechnica reported: Sam Altman announced its latest AI “reasoning” models, o3 and o3-mini, which build upon the o1 models launched earlier this year. The company is not releasing them yet but will make this models available for public safety testing and research access today.

The models use what OpenAI calls “private chain of thought,” where the model pauses to examine its internal dialogue and plan ahead before responding, which you might call “simulated reasoning” (SR) – a form of AI that goes beyond basic large language models (LLMs).

The o3-mini variant, also announced Friday, includes an adaptive thinking time feature, offering low, medium, and high processing speeds. The company states that higher compute settings produce better results. OpenAI reports that o3-mini outperforms its predecessor, o1, on the Codeforces benchmark.

In my opinion, it sounds like OpenAI o3 and o3-mini are likely to become the next generation of AI models.

Chinese Technology Bans in the US Market #1788

Podcast

In today’s show, I explore the controversies surrounding Chinese technology firms in the U.S., the FAA’s drone ban, and the latest in AI with Google’s Gemini 2.0. I dive into the critical security debates, industry advancements, and the implications of government policies on tech and consumer trust. Stay tuned for an insightful blend of tech updates and thoughtful analysis!”

Subscribe to the Newsletter.
Join the Chat @ GeekNews.Chat
Email Todd or follow him on Facebook.
Like and Follow Geek News Central’s Facebook Page.
Download the Audio Show File
New YouTube Channel – Beyond the Office

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Blubrry | TuneIn | RSS | More

Support my Show Sponsor: Best Godaddy Promo Codes
$11.99 – For a New Domain Name cjcfs3geek
$6.99 a month Economy Hosting (Free domain, professional email, and SSL certificate for the 1st year.) Promo Code: cjcgeek1h
$12.99 a month Managed WordPress Hosting (Free domain, professional email, and SSL certificate for the 1st year.) Promo Code: cjcgeek1w
Support the show by becoming a Geek News Central Insider

Continue reading Chinese Technology Bans in the US Market #1788 →

Meta’s AI Video Editing Features Are Coming To Instagram Next Year

AI, Meta

Earlier this year, Meta previewed Movie Gen, an AI video tool that looked impressively realistic (at least in the sample clips it released.) At the time, though, Meta said it was still a research project with no immediate plans to make the features available to users, Engadget reported.

But now it seems that Movie Gen could arrive on Instagram sooner than later. Instagram’s top exec Adam Mosseri posted a short video previewing the kind of seamless AI edits that will eventually be possible, saying that the company is “hoping to bring this to Instagram next year.”

In the clip, Mosseri says that Meta is “working on some really exciting AI tools” for video creators. “You should be able to do anything you want with your videos,” he says. “You should be able to change your outfit, or change the context in which you’re sitting, or add a chain — whatever you can think of.”

The Verge reported: Instagram is planning to introduce a generative AI editing feature next year that will allow users to “change nearly any aspect of your videos.” 

The tech is powered by Meta’s Movie Gen AI model according to a teaser posted by Instagram head Adam Mosseri, and aimed to provide creators with more tools to help transform their content and bring their ideas to life without extensive video editing or manipulation skills.

Mosseri says the feature can make adjustments using a “simple text prompt.” The announcement video includes previews of early research AI models that change Mosseri’s outfit, background environments, and even his overall appearance — in one scene transforming him into a felt puppet.

Meta unveiled its Movie Gen AI video generator in October, which promises to “preserve human identity and motion” in the videos it creates or edits. The announcement was made months after similar models from competitors like OpenAI’s Sora and Adobe Firefly Video model, the latter of which is already powering beta text-to-video editing tools inside Premier Pro. 

Gizmodo reported: One common complaint about Instagram, and social media in general, is that it breeds insecurity by presenting an unrealistic impression of other people’s lives as being better than they really are — the best moments only. 

And heavy editing of physical appearances is known to contribute to body dissatisfaction even when people know what they are seeing is not the full picture. Instagram is soon going to make that situation somewhat worse by allowing users to completely transform their videos using generative AI.

In a teaser shared by Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, was able to completely transform his appearance, in one shot turning himself into a felt puppet, and in another transporting Mosserri from his office to a snowy mountain range with a furry coat. In another, he was able to place a hippo behind him that jumps around and looked into the camera.

In my opinion, I think that Meta’s Movie Gen AI model might make some people who see it feel inadequate about their bodies, and will not want to put up videos of themselves.

SCOTUS Will Hear A Challenge That Could Lead To TikTok Ban

SCOTUS, TikTok

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court confirmed it would review whether a federal law that could ban or force a sale of TikTok is unconstitutional, ArsTechnica reported. 

The announcement came just one day after TikTok and its owner ByteDance petitioned SCOTUS for a temporary injunction to halt the ban until the high court could consider what TikTok claimed is “a massive and unprecedented speech restriction” ahead of a change in the US presidential administrations.

“We’re pleased with today’s Supreme Court order,” TikTok said in a statement. “We believe the Court will find the TikTok ban unconstitutional so the over 170 million Americans on our platform can continue to exercise their free speech rights.”

But while SCOTUS agreed to review the key question that remains for TikTok — whether the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act violates the First Amendment — the court declined to order the injunction that TikTok sought.

“Considering the applications for an injunction pending review presented to The Chief Justice and by him referred to the Court is deferring pending oral argument,” court’s announcement said.

TechCrunch reported: The Supreme Court said on Wednesday that it will hear ByteDance and TikTok’s challenge to a law that would ban the social network in the U.S. unless the social network divests from Chinese ownership by January 19. 

On January 10, the Supreme Court justices will hear arguments about whether the sell-or-ban law violates the First Amendment. It is unknown how quickly the court will come to a decision.

The two companies asked the Supreme court on Monday to block the law. Last week, ByteDance and TikTok filed an emergency motion asking an appeals court to temporarily block the law in order to give the Supreme Court a chance to assess the case.

The social network may also get a lifeline from President-elect Donald Trump, who has vowed to save TikTok, it’s worth noting that TikTok CEO Shou Chew reportedly met with President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Monday, according to CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.

The Verge reported:The Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments on whether a bill that could ban TikTok violates the First Amendment, The arguments will take place on January 10th, just over a week before a potential ban could take effect.

While the outcome is far from guaranteed, SCOTUS’ decision to take up the case is a small win for TikTok, which is barreling toward expulsion from the US unless the court throws out or pauses the law, or its China-based parent company ByteDance agrees to sell it in time.

The law at the center of the case, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, seeks to prohibit apps like TikTok from being owned by companies in a list of foreign adversary countries.

In my opinion, it sounds like SCOTUS is going to take a close look whether or not banning or forcing a sale of TikTok is unconstitutional.