Did somebody say Clark Kent? Photo: Travis Meier/Axios
👋 Travis here.
I recently tried on a pair of Meta AI glasses at an event at VML, a global brand agency headquartered in Kansas City.
The big picture: The agency's Future 100 event took a wide-ranging look at 2026 trends, but this tech brought me straight inside the ongoing integration of AI into everyday life.
Meta is one of VML's clients.
Zoom in: The pair of glasses I tried on ($399) talks to you, responds to voice prompts, takes photos and videos, and is outfitted with "generic" AI, staff tell me, meaning it's limited to general descriptions and tasks.
VML is working on finding more uses for the glasses — beyond bragging to your friends, "Look what my glasses can do!" — by testing concepts and telling Meta what works.
One idea would aid in early-onset dementia, where the glasses connect with a person's Facebook friends list to remind them in real time who they're looking at.
💠My thought bubble: As an avid fan of wearable tech and talk-to-text (as much as it makes my wife cringe when we're out in public), I think these glasses have a lot of promise.
As it stands, the glasses function like a glorified Siri. I think I'll hang on to my money.