Harvard Dropouts Launch Controversial AI Smart Glasses That Record Every Conversation

Two former Harvard students, AnhPhu Nguyen and Caine Ardayfio, are launching Halo X, a pair of AI-powered smart glasses designed to listen to, record, and transcribe every conversation in real time. The goal, according to the co-founders, is to give users “infinite memory” and make them “super intelligent” the moment they put on the glasses. The glasses, which will be available for pre-order at $249 starting Wednesday, do not have a camera but include a microphone and a small display. They rely on a smartphone app for processing, using Google’s Gemini for reasoning and math tasks, and Perplexity to search the web for answers. When a user hears a complex word or is asked a question—like “What’s 37 to the third power?”—the answer appears on the glasses’ display. Nguyen and Ardayfio, who left Harvard to focus on their startup, have raised $1 million from investors including Pillar VC, Soma Capital, Village Global, and Morningside Venture. They are based in the San Francisco Bay Area and have previously drawn attention for developing I-XRAY, a proof-of-concept app that added facial recognition to Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses, allowing them to identify strangers and pull up personal data—without consent. The new glasses are marketed as discreet, with no external indicator light to signal when they are recording. Ardayfio said the design prioritizes subtlety, likening the experience to “vibe thinking.” However, this lack of visibility raises serious privacy concerns. Eva Galperin, director of cybersecurity at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, warned that normalizing always-on recording devices in public spaces erodes the expectation of privacy. “This sounds like a variation on the microphone spy pen,” she said. “It’s a major issue when you’re recording people without their knowledge, especially in private conversations.” While the founders acknowledge laws in 12 U.S. states requiring consent from all parties in a conversation, they argue it’s the user’s responsibility to comply. They claim that audio data is deleted after transcription and that the system uses Soniox for transcription, which says it never stores recordings. Nguyen said the final product will feature end-to-end encryption and is aiming for SOC 2 compliance, though no timeline was provided. Despite their claims, the lack of transparency around data handling and the history of controversial projects make trust difficult. The glasses currently depend on a smartphone for processing, meaning users must keep their phones nearby. The team is considering adding a camera in future versions, though that would intensify privacy concerns. During a demo, when asked about the release date of “The Witcher” season four, Ardayfio responded with a confident but unverified prediction: “2025, likely the second half.” He admitted, “I don’t know if that’s correct.” The project represents a bold step into the wearable AI space, but its success will depend on balancing innovation with ethical responsibility—especially as it challenges the boundaries of privacy in everyday life.