Google employee Tim Bray says something disquieting about Google Glass:
Do They Meet a Need? Seems pretty obvious to me; I’m damn sick of hauling out my mobile to find out what time it is, or to check on my next meeting, or to glance at a map, or to snap a quick photo of an interesting streetlight or whatever.
This is a more or less physically competent adult male, folks. Please consider for a moment that this person with two arms and legs and a functional nervous system and a reputation for being thoughtful and tech-savvy is saying that it's too much trouble to do the following:
If you find yourself wondering sometime whether the human race is long for this world, just read Bray's post -- in which he cavalierly dismisses privacy concerns and points out that after a short time you stop noticing that they are present (fun!) -- and rest assured that people like him, who think checking a Rolodex is a Real Hard Time, who see omnipresent computing and constant surveillance not as Awesome or Scary but as Just Not That Big a Deal, have made themselves essential to the functioning of Western civilization.
Google Glass might not be the right hill to die on, privacy-wise, soul-wise, but you've got to pick one.