When I recently came across an article about advancements in contact lens technology, I flashed back to the British television anthology series, Black Mirror, created by Charlie Brooker, in where each installment explores the dark side of life and technology. In one episode, The Entire History of You, set in the near future, people have the ability to access each aspect of their memory through an implant that records everything they do, see and hear.
The protagonist, played by Toby Kebbell, dwells on what could be considered seemingly innocent exchanges between his wife and what turns out to be her ex-boyfriend, Jonas, played by Tom Cullen. Kebbell’s character increasingly fixates on Jonas who at one point speaks rather frankly about masturbating to re-dos—images from past memories that can be recalled with the simple touch of a button—of sex from his earlier relationships.
As the episode continues to unfold, Kebbell’s character becomes increasingly transfixed and obsessed on each interaction he has just had or witnessed with Jonas. Awake throughout the night, he replays these interactions, zooming in and out on the images, analyzing every infinitesimal detail until finally he comes to find a devastating truth. One that leaves him upended and in a state of maddening anguish. He is then stuck reliving these haunted memories over and over in excruciating detail.
In 2014, when some people still believed Google Glass was just suffering from a simple branding issue, Google, being Google, was continuing to explore other realms of computer-human integration. A contact lens with a camera Google declared could be a ‘bionic eye’ that would help the blind and visually impaired. These new smart contact lenses with tiny CMOS camera sensor just below the pupil, would allow the camera to naturally follow a person’s gaze and help with facial recognition. *
In September of 2015, Google declared that smart contact lens are in development. They surreptitiously filed a patent describing them as an “eye-mountable device.” The company states that this technology will collect health data through the eye’s liquid—monitoring glucose levels and symptoms for glaucoma, for example. But language in the patent also states use for a “video chat session” with another computing device and a video chat window.**
So while this type of innovation could represent a revolution in disease management, the ability to record something or someone without ever having to bring out a device opens a Pandora’s box of personal privacy concerns. And in an era of mass data collection, is the next wave of retrieving and sharing information going to make bulk collection personal? Imagine an easy-to-use tool that records each aspect of a person’s life without him or her ever having to actually activate the device.
The ease of such products makes their appeal obvious, but such easy to turn on technological advancements only mean that it’s that much harder to turn off. Ultimately, we may look back and see that one of human nature’s greatest kindnesses was our ability to forget.
Jesse C Beck
* “Google invents smart contact lens with built-in camera: Superhuman Terminator-like vision here we come,” by Sebastian Anthony. April 15, 2014. Extreme Tech. http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/180571-google-invents-smart-contact-lens-with-built-in-camera-superhuman-terminator-like-vision-here-we-come
** “Google Smart Contact Lens To Hit The Market Soon?” by Quinten Plummer, Tech Times. June 28, 2015. http://www.techtimes.com/articles/63868/20150628/google-smart-contact-lens-to-hit-the-market-soon.htm
Patent Application: http://appft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-adv.html&r=65&f=G&l=50&d=PG01&s1=Google.AS.&p=2&OS=AN/Google&RS=AN/Google