00:02At a meeting, eating out, or hailing a taxi, I would always wear them.
00:08We can speak our own words in our own language, it's amazing.
00:11Hello and welcome to Crossing Cultures.
00:14In this series we look at new technologies that are changing everyday life.
00:18And our first topic is AI glasses.
00:21My co-host Yang Zhao went to one of the largest electronics markets in the world here in Shenzhen.
00:28Yang, over to you.
00:35More than half of the world's AI glasses are made here in China.
00:39And if you want to see how fast China reacts to this new piece of tack, this is a pretty
00:44good place to start.
00:51Every day, thousands of visitors come to Huaqiangbei to try out AI glasses.
00:56Juanita was one of them.
00:58Although buying a pair wasn't part of her plan.
01:02I've really struggled without an interpreter here in China.
01:06And someone had suggested I look at the new smart glasses, AI glasses.
01:10That could actually do the translation in real time.
01:13We can speak in our own language and to see if this interview could go on.
01:18Excellent.
01:18Okay, let's try this.
01:20Let's try this.
01:23We can speak our own words in our own language.
01:31It's amazing.
01:31But many people worried about privacy.
01:35The more AI glasses look like ordinary glasses, the harder it is for people nearby to know when they are
01:41in use.
01:42There has been a lot within the local news about breaches of privacy, where you should or shouldn't be able
01:48to use them.
01:49It's more for the recording function.
01:52Smart glasses aren't new.
01:54For more than a decade, companies have been trying to make them smaller, lighter and easier to wear.
02:00But making glasses wearable wasn't enough.
02:03AI has given them something more important.
02:06A reason to wear them.
02:10These things bring in more function to the eyeglasses.
02:14Okay, not only taking a video, listening to the music, but help you to solve the day-to-day problem.
02:24So AI glasses are ready to become part of a daily life here, and a manufacturer's hope they could replace
02:30a smartphone some days in the future.
02:32But for someone, that could also mean much more than convenience.
02:37Dennis?
02:38Yes, indeed, Yang Zhao.
02:40We often see AI glasses as just another gadget, something you would use for work or for entertainment.
02:46But for some people, people with impaired vision or hearing, this technology can be life-changing.
02:53Let's meet someone who is testing that here in Shenzhen.
02:57Let's go.
03:03This is Liu Shenshan.
03:05She comes from eastern China.
03:07When she was three, she lost her hearing due to a high fever.
03:11Today, her work is to help other people with disabilities find a job.
03:14But in a fast-paced city like Shenzhen, communication can be difficult.
03:23If there's an obstacle, I would use an app on my smartphone for voice transcription.
03:29Or I would read lips.
03:34Today, Liu Shenshan is visiting Rayneo, a company that develops AI glasses with speech-to-text transcription.
03:42Microphones on the glasses pick up the words walking nearby, and software displays them as captions, almost in real time.
03:49We'll hear from them.
03:50We can take it back to the picture.
03:53Can you try to play this thing?
03:54Can you try to play this one?
03:54Now, I'm on the pay-tooth app on the app, which is a mouse button.
03:59Now, I choose the Chinese text.
04:01So, the messages have been written into Chinese text, and you can turn it back in your hand.
04:06You can be very vorstated to see the right button.
04:24Liu Shanshan says she liked that the smart glasses
04:26are faster and more accurate than lip reading
04:29and they don't disrupt the conversation like phones do
04:33At a meeting, eating out or hailing a taxi
04:36I would always wear them
04:40Next time on Crossing Cultures
04:42we'll continue exploring new technologies
04:44that are making people's lives better
04:47We'll look at green buildings
04:49and how they are changing cities
04:51in China, in Europe and around the world
04:53Join us
