Tackling AI, Meta Glasses, and Be My Eyes
I like helping people out.
Always have, always will.
If you also like helping people out, you should probably download the Be My Eyes app.
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First off, what is the Be My Eyes app?
It's a free app that connects those who are blind or low vision with support staff and volunteers like you and I who offer real-time help through live video calls.
Imagine if you were blind -- it’s like having a helpful friend available to assist with everyday visual tasks through your phone camera.
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Here's my experience:
I've had Be My Eyes downloaded for over a year now.
I've gotten about five or six calls and always chickened out, afraid I wouldn't be helpful enough.
Today, I finally answered one.
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"Hello?" I asked cautiously, staring at a blank screen.
"Oh, hello," a calm voice replied. "I'm Bob, and I'm in JB Hi-Fi trying to get my Meta Glasses to work."
"Cool! Unfortunately, I can't see anything right now," I said sheepishly, already worried I was messing up my first call.
"Oh, we're just trying to set it up, bear with me," he apologized, clearly a little frazzled.
Rather than sit in silence, Bob introduced himself.
He's in his late seventies and has worked in tech all his life. He's not getting Meta Glasses to record people -- he wants them for the voice functions and Be My Eyes compatibility so he can be independent when he's out and about without his wife.
Now, other than making my heart melt, his introduction made me realize something: I'd been focusing too much on the negatives of AI and new technology. My fear of surveillance culture and AI slop had overshadowed the actual advancements that AI enables.
I'd forgotten that beyond copying artists and stealing creative jobs, AI is also implemented in healthcare and assistive technology. When we look past the negatives -- yes, the environmental impacts suck -- we can see that AI is genuinely improving lives.
Because of Meta glasses, AI, Be My Eyes, and people like you and me who download the app to help, people like Bob can live their lives without needing a constant aide. Bob can go grocery shopping alone because the glasses and the app can describe things to him. He doesn't need to stand out with a physical helper -- the glasses are a discreet aid.
Rather than waste my time fixating on AI's damages and job displacement, I need to focus on AI as a tool. Because honestly, AI isn't going anywhere.
Anyways, back to the main point: you should download Be My Eyes.
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Here's a bit of info about the company:
(All info has been found through a bit of Google research.)
Be My Eyes started in 2012 when Hans Jørgen Wiberg, a Danish craftsman losing his sight from retinitis pigmentosa, got tired of struggling with simple visual tasks.
He built this app that connects blind and low vision users with sighted volunteers through video calls for quick help with everyday stuff like reading labels, figuring out what something is, navigating new places, that kind of thing.
What's cool about it is that it's all about actual human connection.
Instead of trying to automate everything, it uses tech to link people up when someone needs a pair of eyes. It's accessibility done right: practical, respectful, and community-powered.
Volunteers like me help out in short calls, and users get independence without having to constantly bug their friends and family.
Good accessibility isn't always about fancy AI or expensive tech. Sometimes it's just about people helping people.
p.s. this is not an ad.