Lorde dismisses Meta AI glasses as 'not sexy' amid privacy concerns
Despite sales of over 7 million units in 2025, the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses face scrutiny over privacy violations and allegations regarding AI training data.
Pop star Lorde used her performance at the Mad Cool Festival in Madrid last week to launch a pointed critique of Meta’s AI-enabled smart glasses, describing the technology as "not sexy" and raising alarms about the erosion of privacy and reality. Speaking to the audience, the New Zealand singer expressed concern over the difficulty of distinguishing between standard eyewear and devices equipped with cameras and artificial intelligence.
"Increasingly in our world, it gets harder and harder to know what is real," Lorde said. "You don’t know if someone is wearing sunglasses, or if they’re wearing those f–ed up, f–ing [AI glasses]." She concluded her remarks with a direct instruction to the crowd: "Don’t get the glasses. Not sexy."
The comments came at a time of heightened scrutiny for Meta, the dominant maker of smart glasses. Security experts have long identified the devices as a potential privacy nightmare, citing their use in cases of harassment and extortion. Meta maintains that it takes privacy seriously and has implemented safeguards, such as a visible recording light, to address these concerns. However, the company continues to face multiple investigations and lawsuits alleging privacy violations.
One specific legal challenge alleges that Kenyan contract workers were required to view graphic videos captured via the glasses to train Meta’s artificial intelligence models. Meta has not publicly detailed its response to this particular allegation. The controversy has not, however, dampened commercial interest in the product. EssilorLuxottica, the manufacturer of Ray-Ban, reported sales of over 7 million Meta AI glasses in 2025, a figure more than triple the combined sales of the 2023 and 2024 periods.
The timing of Lorde’s remarks drew attention given the festival’s commercial landscape. Ray-Ban is a sponsor of the Mad Cool Festival and partners with Meta to produce the smart glasses. Furthermore, Lorde performed immediately before Jennie, an ambassador for the Ray-Ban x Meta line, who took the stage later in the evening. This stance aligns with Lorde’s previous expressions of scepticism towards personal technology, including past comments about discarding her mobile phone.
