Lorde rejects Meta’s smart glasses as a threat to authenticity

The singer’s critique arrived at a festival heavily branded by Ray-Ban, a partner in Meta’s wearable tech venture. The timing was particularly pointed as Lorde took the stage just before Jennie, an official ambassador for the Ray-Ban Meta collaboration. For Lorde, the proliferation of cameras hidden in frames represents a deeper crisis in how we perceive reality, noting that it is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between standard eyewear and recording devices.

While Meta maintains that its products include privacy safeguards like recording indicators, the company faces a wave of litigation and investigations regarding potential privacy violations. Reports have surfaced alleging that contract workers were tasked with reviewing graphic footage captured by the devices to refine AI training models. Despite these controversies, consumer demand remains high; manufacturer EssilorLuxottica reported sales of over 7 million units in 2025, a significant surge that has encouraged Meta to continue expanding its hardware lineup. Lorde’s dismissal of the glasses as unappealing targets the one metric the company cannot easily influence: the social perception of the wearer.