Kylie Jenner is serving as a human billboard for Meta AI glasses, but pop star Lorde isn’t buying them.
During her set at Mad Cool Festival in Madrid last week, Lorde had some choice words about a new technology that many security experts consider a privacy nightmare.
“It’s getting harder and harder to know what’s real in the world.” Lorde told the audience. “You can’t tell if someone is wearing sunglasses or if they’re annoying (AI glasses). For the record, can I just say glasses? Don’t wear glasses. It’s not sexy.”
Lorde has previously written about throwing your phone into the ocean, but this was the next step.
Lorde may have wanted to comment on the latest trends in technology. That’s because festival sponsor Ray-Ban has teamed up with Meta to create AI glasses. Lorde also performed right in front of singer Jennie, who is an ambassador for Ray-Ban x Meta’s line of smart glasses.
Lorde is not alone in raising concerns. Smart glasses equipped with cameras and AI capabilities have been used as tools for harassment and extortion. Meta, the most popular smart glasses maker, says it takes privacy seriously and has built safeguards such as visible recording lights, but the company has faced numerous investigations and lawsuits alleging privacy violations. One lawsuit alleges that contract workers in Kenya were forced to watch graphic videos obtained through glasses to help train Meta’s AI. (Meta has not publicly detailed its response to that specific claim.)
None of this prevented strong sales of the product. Ray-Ban maker EssilorLuxottica said it sold more than 7 million Meta AI glasses in 2025. This is more than three times the approximately 2 million units sold in 2023 and 2024 combined. Ray-Ban Meta glasses have been a huge hit in the smart glasses category, and the bold Meta continues to expand its lineup.
But if privacy doesn’t make people think twice about their glasses, it can also lead to vanity. Lorde explains it very succinctly by simply declaring that it’s “not sexy.”
She added that this moment is “sexy.”
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