Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg is betting the next great shift in consumer technology will come from artificial intelligence glasses, forecasting mass adoption that could rival the smartphone era.
In a new interview with Rowan Cheung, Zuckerberg explains how rapid progress in AI is speeding up timelines for new devices.
“Every time I think of what a milestone would be in AI, they all seem to get achieved sooner than we think.”
Zuckerberg says the most important change will be the arrival of devices capable of hosting what he calls “personal superintelligence,” noting that AI glasses would be the natural candidate for this role.
“Our theory is that glasses are the ideal form factor for personal superintelligence because it’s the only real device that you can have that can see what you see, can hear what you hear, can talk to you throughout the day, and can generate a UI in your vision in real time.
So there are other devices that people have. I mean, obviously, you can have some AI on your phone, you can do some AI on your watch, and you can do some of it if you just have AirPods-type thing. But I think glasses are going to be the only thing that can do all of the pieces that I just said, kind of visual and audio in and out.”
That shift, Zuckerberg suggests, could ultimately bring billions of users into the AI ecosystem.
“There’s like more than a billion people. It’s somewhere between one and two billion people in the world who have glasses for vision correction today. And I don’t know, I think within whatever it is, five to seven years, is there like any world where those aren’t all replaced with AI glasses?”
The company just unveiled a new range of AI-powered glasses at its Meta Connect conference, including the $799 Ray-Ban Meta Display with a full-color screen and camera, the $499 Oakley Meta Vanguard aimed at sports users, and a refreshed $379 Ray-Ban Meta line.
Zuckerberg called the devices a “huge scientific breakthrough” and said they will serve as a key platform for integrating Meta AI into everyday life.