Khaberni - The First Judicial District in Pennsylvania announced that starting this week, all types of glasses equipped with artificial intelligence technology or cameras will be banned in the courts.
A court representative, in a statement to the "Philadelphia Inquirer", said: "Due to the difficulty of detecting these glasses in courtrooms, it has been decided to ban them inside the building".
One of the main reasons behind this ban specifically is to protect witnesses and jury members. Smart glasses like the Ray Ban Meta AI contain cameras, which could theoretically be used to photograph jurors and identify them outside the court, although there are no confirmed cases of this occurring yet, according to a report from the newspaper, which “Al Arabiya Business” has seen.
Banning smart glasses is entirely logical, as there are many ways in which smart glasses could affect the judicial process, and if recent reports are an indication, they have already begun to have an impact.
This month, a man was caught in a London court wearing smart glasses, which he was using to receive answers while giving testimony. According to the judge, the man appeared to "hesitate a lot", which was a clear indication of some malfunction.
However, the fact that courts are an obvious place to ban smart glasses does not necessarily mean that it will prevent people from wearing them.
According to the newspaper, there are currently no plans to inspect those entering the courts to check whether the glasses they wear are equipped with a camera or a display screen or any form of artificial intelligence.
Even if plans were found, it would require instructing court security personnel on what to look for in the first place. While it is clear that some glasses are equipped with advanced technologies, like "Ray Ban Meta AI" that contain obvious cameras, other glasses, like the "Even G2" from "Even Realities", contain only a display without speakers or cameras.
Although the ban in Philadelphia is not the first of its kind—as Hawaii and Wisconsin have similar measures and Colorado is considering imposing a similar ban—it reflects an increasing scrutiny on the use of smart glasses within sensitive environments, including academic institutions and places like cruises, where individuals expect a reasonable amount of privacy.
