Kashif Hoda was getting onto a Southbound train at Harvard Square when a young man said he recognized him. The doors closed before he got a chance to ask the young man how, or who he was. A month later, the answer came in the form of a viral video.

Kashif Hoda was getting onto a Southbound train at Harvard Square when a young man approached him, saying he recognized Kashif. The young man seemed to prove it by referencing Kashif’s work. But the doors closed before Kashif got a chance to ask the young man how, or who he was. A month later, the answer came in the form of a viral video.

Harvard students AnhPhu Nguyen and Caine Ardefyio modified Meta’s smart glasses so that you can search someone’s face quickly, almost without them knowing, and read information about them scraped from around the web that they might no longer remember even exists. Think: pictures and articles from decades ago. Addresses. Voting records.

Are we prepared for a future where this tool goes mainstream?