12 scary Google Glass predictions ‘The Simpsons’ got right

Oogle Glasses lead

Firstly, this was The Simpsons’ finest half-hour in years. The last time I laughed at an episode, I had just purchased an Xbox 360. It was 2008. That was six years ago but today I’m laughing. Because the latest episode lampoons Google Glass perfectly (called “Oogle Glasses” in The Simpsons’ universe), with an episode called “Specs and the City”. If you’re living in the US, you can watch the episode here.

I get what The Simpsons is trying to do here, and you can see it for yourself when you’re out and about in your city. We’re all buried in our smartphones and the few with Google Glass are on another level to us.

Information is being constantly streamed, with little to no downtime between interacting on social media, browsing the web or taking pictures.

The Simpsons’ Oogle Glass is a comment on our increasingly introverted society and these are the best (if not slightly disturbing) moments from the show.

1. Mindless and endless YouTube’ing

Video watching

2. Glass gaming – the death of consoles

Virtual gaming

3. Constant guilt with real-time calorie counting

Calorie counter

4. Being able to dig up dirt on others

Criminal records

5. No rest for the wicked with constant health and body monitoring

health monitoring

6. Everyone but no-one is your friend

Isolation

7. Losing all touch with reality

lack of focus

8. Becoming a know-it-all

Location information

9. Knowing your value in life

property management

10. NSA-style Glass snooping

realtime video spying

11. Perpetual gluttony with every recipe you’ll ever need, and more

Recipies

12. “Intimacy”

sex

Steven Norris: grumpy curmudgeon
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