Quote of the day by Julian Assange: 'If you want a vision of the future, imagine Washington-backed Google Glasses strapped onto vacant human faces forever'

Date:
Sat, 08 Aug 2026 22:00:00 +0000

Description:
Smart glasses are becoming more in vogue today, but the industry is still haunted by the failure of Google Glass

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter The WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange carved a reputation as a firebrand and intense critic of the modern tech companies after rising to fame following the WikiLeaks disclosures. Although he's been absent from the public eye in recent years, he frequently commented on the emerging trends in the technology landscape. "If you want a vision of the future, imagine Washington-backed Google Glasses strapped onto vacant human faces forever" Julian Assange, June 2013 Big Brother is
watching you Paraphrasing a famous line from George Orwell's 'Nineteen Eighty-Four', Assange used Google 's failed smart glasses as a rhetorical device to critique their philosophy in an op-ed for The New York Times .
Quote of the day This article is part of TechRadar Pro's QOTD project to provide an insight into the minds of the brightest and most recognized
figures in the technology industry today and in years gone by. Read the full series here . In his column, he was critiquing a new book titled 'The New Digital Age' by Google's then-executive chairman Eric Schmidt and businessman Jared Cohen, who was then director of Google Ideas. Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here:

This book outlined Google's vision for how the world was changing and laid
out the company's role in reshaping it. But, to Assange, it was a bland and uninspired account of how this company was implementing George Orwell's prophecy without even really understanding how.

Drawing from the original line, Assange's disdain for the company is as clear as day in the way that he compared people wearing Google Glass to "a boot stamping on a human face". You may like The smart glasses backlash hits new heights as celebs and activists unite "Our mobile phones have become the greatest spy on the planet" - quote of the day by antivirus pioneer John McAfee "If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place" quote of the day by Eric Schmidt Don't be evil The modern form of this Orwellian vision is centered around consumer technology, Assange believed, and gadgets like the Google Glass were akin to tools that would serve to sap users' independence and privacy.

Although Google Glass itself was a failure, the point is more about the fears that this device represented. Now, more than a decade on, developments have more or less vindicated his dystopian perspectives with a growing perception that a mass surveillance state is being precipitated by the surrender of privacy. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Some may argue this is a feature inherent to the use of consumer devices as well as software and services, and present in modern trends such as doomscrolling.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/quote-of-the-day-by-julian-assange-if-you-want-a -vision-of-the-future-imagine-washington-backed-google-glasses-strapped-onto-v acant-human-faces-forever


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