Smart glasses are making everyday life easier or making humans more dependant is a matter of debate, but have now wondered how it can catch people in vulnerable situations, secretly record them or even show them in poor light, give the privacy concerns around them? While AI use can take photographs, make calls, access information and interact with artificial intelligence without reaching for their phones, the same technology is muddled with privacy, surveillance and cheating. A video that went viral on social media recently shows a man allegedly using AI-powered smart glasses to win a chess match against an unsuspecting opponent, has reignighted those concerns.
The video, originally shared by TikTok creator SourGrape02, shows a man challenging a woman to a game of chess at a public park. He claims to have played chess only once or twice, but appears to have a technological advantage hidden in his glasses.
The clip was shared on X by a technology commentator on October 23, with the caption: "This guy used Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses, AI, and a MacBook to cheat at chess game."
The footage is from October 18. The exact date on which the original TikTok video was recorded or first uploaded could not be independently established.
According to accounts accompanying the video, the man used Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses to transmit a live view of the chessboard to a MacBook through a WhatsApp video call.
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GPT reportedly identified the positions of the chess pieces, while Stockfish, a powerful chess engine, calculated the strongest moves to the user. The suggested moves were then relayed to the player through the glasses' audio system, allowing him to continue playing without looking at a computer screen.
As the match progresses, the woman appears surprised by the man's performance. The edited video concludes with an apparent checkmate, however, the full game and the claimed AI assistance have not been independently verified.
The demonstration has attracted criticism from popular chess commentator Levy Rozman, better known as GothamChess, who questioned the authenticity and significance of the video.
"This is chess LARP," Rozman said in an October 21 video, pointing out that the chess clock shown in the footage did not appear to be switched on.
"Second of all, you don't need to cheat to win this game," he said, explaining that the move involved a well-known opening trap called the Blackburne Shilling Gambit.
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Nonetheless, the incident has highlighted a growing challenge for competitive games and camera-equipped smart glasses that can potentially provide discreet access to outside assistance, making cheating difficult to detect.
Beyond chess, the discreet access to technology extends to poker, examinations and activities where access to external information can provide an unfair advantage.
While smart glasses can offer genuine benefits, including hands-free communication, navigation and accessibility assistance, their increasing capabilities are raising concerns on where convenience ends and misuse begins.
Although, the chess clip may not establish that AI-assisted cheating took place, but it offers a glimpse of the challenges that wearable technology could pose for fair play.
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