Meta Glasses Could Be the Gateway Into a Queer Dystopian Nightmare

Billboards featuring Kylie Jenner have popped up across the nation promoting new AI glasses, the latest from Meta’s Big Brother empire. The new collection features frames that are meant to look sleek and fashionable, just like any other pair of sunglasses, making it even harder for people in the wearer’s company to know they’re being monitored and recorded. It should come as no surprise that technology like this is already being used to deepen our dystopian surveillance apparatus.Earlier this year, the Trump administration proposed allocating funding in the fiscal year 2027 for the Department of Homeland Security to develop wearable surveillance technology like AI smart glasses similar to Meta’s, though not actually created by Meta. The proposal noted the glasses would aid agents’ ability to “encounter, transport, detain and remove migrants who are in the United States illegally” in real time. Though not yet passed, the proposal signals a clear — and alarming — vision for the agency’s future.Thousands of AI glasses on the street that could livestream, record, recognize a location, and eventually recognize a face would remove the ability for nearly anyone to go from place to place without having their whereabouts known. This tyrannical surveillance would force communities who are already under the highest scrutiny by our government to live in a constant state of fear. However, federal operatives apparently may not be waiting for this development to trial-run the technology as a weapon against immigrant communities: ICE agents in at least six states have already been seen wearing Meta glasses on the job, according to an Independent investigation. It’s unclear at this point whether these agents were directed by DHS to pilot the use of this technology or if they took it upon themselves, but either way, it’s cause for concern. While Meta is publicly touting the glasses as the cutting edge of culture and fashion, federal agents carrying out Preside