Aarhus venue bans controversial AI glasses

Radar, a music venue in Aarhus, has banned AI glasses from brands including Meta, the venue told DR. Guests will be greeted by a sign reading: “Smart glasses? No thanks.”

The glasses have been criticised because they make it easy to record people without their knowledge. As smart glasses increasingly resemble ordinary spectacles, videos of women filmed without their consent have been posted online several times.

“We are concerned about the consequences this could have for the safe space that a concert should be,” said Martin Aagaard Jensen, Radar’s venue manager.

He said the concern applied to everyone entering the venue, including volunteers, artists and audience members.

“We are concerned about our volunteers, who should be able to work at the bar, help a guest, handle a conflict or simply be present without feeling that they could potentially be part of a recording,” Jensen said.

Some artists also do not want their concerts filmed, he said, adding that photography is generally limited to the first few songs.

Audience members should be able to enjoy a festive and private evening without fearing that they are being recorded, Jensen said. He added that Radar feared people might eventually stop attending concerts if they had to worry about being filmed throughout the evening.

Radar hopes the ban will start a dialogue about the issue but does not want to tell other venues what to do. Jensen said Radar’s size and capacity might make the glasses easier for it to manage.

He said the glasses posed a greater challenge than smartphones because someone filming with a phone held up to their face is immediately visible. It is also more practical to record throughout a long concert using glasses than a phone, he said.

The Danish data protection authority has also identified several concerns related to the use of the glasses, DR reported in mid-August.

Meta said its glasses had an indicator light that alerts people when a photo is taken or video is recorded. The company said the glasses were useful, helped users stay present and offered important technology for blind and visually impaired people. Meta added that filming should not be allowed in some places, but said restrictions should be applied consistently.