Someone Made an Ad Blocker for Real Life and I Can’t Wait to Try It
I use as many ad-blocking apps as I can, but no matter how many I install, real ads still stick around, grabbing my attention when I’m just trying to go for a walk. Luckily, a solution may be on the horizon. Software engineer Stine Spanhow recently posted a concept video showing what real-time ad blocking looks like on a pair of Snap Spectacles, and I really want one. Check it out:
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The idea is that the artificial intelligence in your smart glasses recognizes ads in your field of view and “edits” them in real time, preventing you from seeing what they want you to see.
While Spanhove’s video shows a red block over the offensive ad, you could probably cover that Wendy’s ad with anything you like — an abstract painting, a photo of your family, an Arby’s ad, etc.
How close are we to real ad blocking?
While this is still a test, real ad blocking for humans seems to be just around the corner. The technology is already here: Current-generation consumer AI glasses like Meta Ray Bans can already detect what you’re looking at with alarming accuracy.
Replacing ads is a bit more complicated, however. While there are AR smart glasses on the market like the XReal Airs and the upcoming Snap Specs, as well as AR experiences in VR headsets like the Meta Quest 3 that can already remove parts of the real-world environment and replace them, there’s nothing on the market that’s full AR that’s practical enough to wear all the time. Battery life and weight are issues, but they’re solvable. With so many companies competing in the smart glasses market , it seems like it’s only a matter of time before ad blocking becomes practical in real life.
Companies vs. Consumers and the Creation of the Perfect Echo Chamber
I could imagine this being the killer app for smart glasses in the near future: it’s something consumers actually want. But it’s also something advertisers and marketers don’t want, and that may be the biggest hurdle for real ad blockers. You can imagine a cat-and-mouse game similar to the one that’s been going on online for years, with companies trying to get around ad blockers in clever ways, like disguising ads as something else. Will there be legal issues? Will there be issues with the megacorporation that makes smart glasses not wanting to piss off all the other companies? And what happens if you want to edit ads for the very device you’re wearing?
There are sociological issues, too. People probably won’t stop at replacing ads with pixel art. They’ll cut out anything that personally irritates them: homeless people, construction sites, other people whose features they don’t like. Curating your own visual experiences in the real world can lead to the creation of personal echo chambers that make the world more like yours but less like them, the ultimate echo chamber.
Ethical issues aside, I’d be first in line for a pair of glasses that edited reality to my liking. I know I ‘d use them responsibly, even if I’m not sure about everyone else. Maybe I wouldn’t wear them all the time. But almost all the time.