How Lady Gaga Just Reinvented Eye Contact

By Brian Lam

How Lady Gaga Just Reinvented Eye Contact

Lady Gaga's weirdo Polaroid glasses are about to turn our faces into Facebook feeds and mood rings.

The glasses have two little screens in them. The weird thing is that they face outward. You can imagine the scene as Polaroid's suit brigade and accountants took the pitch from Gaga, stammering and wondering what they got themselves into and if they'd willingly let her take the company down with her. It makes no sense on first thought. OR DOES IT.

The history of science fictional and concept eyewear is littered with ideas stacked on top of a simple basis: that eyes are for seeing. A Terminator's vision let it see wartime meta data on enemies, terrain and weapons; augmented reality apps like google goggles and Amazon's product search that works through a camera are already living in smartphones now. In its most general and obvious sense, eyes are for seeing, and the future of eyes is about seeing better.

That is irrefutable. But there are two other things technologists and futurists often overlook when thinking about the future of human vision: That people look into each other's eyes when they talk to each other. And that eyes say a lot, powerfully and subtly, on their own. Winking, rolling, smizing, crying, squinting, for starters. Gaga's glasses take direct advantage of the way we lock gazes when we converse in person, but they kind of throw a nuke down on the subtly of eye based body language. It's more like they replace it, sunglasses betraying nothing, while user-selected, pixel precise messaging comes through the screens. Think of it as flickr or a facebook photo album for your face. Loaded with hamburgers if someone's hungry, hearts if they're in love, videos of thunderclouds rolling slowly in if someone is pissed off. The screens could output colors to match clothing or moods. Anything is possible.

How Lady Gaga Just Reinvented Eye Contact

Maybe it won't catch on. Maybe kids will go nuts with it. I don't know! But I do know that this gadget dovetails perfectly with what the future is starting to smell like: Less the crisp clear world of touch interfaces with meta data on everything, everywhere. And more like the micro broadcasted one we contribute to every time we tweet, post or share.

Illustration by Contributing Illustrator Sam Spratt. Check out Sam's newly redesigned portfolio website and become a fan of his Facebook Artist's Page.

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These restrictions are in addition to the Winter Parking Restrictions, which were put into effect Friday, Dec. 17 in Minneapolis. These restrictions ensure reliable access for emergency vehicles after a record December snowfall. Winter Parking Restrictions will be in place until April 1, unless conditions allow the City to lift the ban earlier. Parking is allowed on both sides of Snow Emergency routes and parkways, and the ODD side of non-Snow Emergency routes, unless otherwise posted and provided a Snow Emergency has NOT been declared. Drivers parking in Minneapolis must follow these Winter Parking Restrictions, or they could be ticketed and towed.

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Gillard touring St George ahead of flood peak After facing angry flood victims yesterday, Prime Minister Julia Gillard will tour St George today as homes in the southern Queensland town prepare for inundation. Habib drops torture case against Government Former Guantanamo Bay detainee Mamdouh Habib has agreed to drop his lawsuit against the Federal Government for being complicit in his torture while he was detained. England can only get better: Strauss England's Ashes series winners have yet to reach their peak, victorious captain Andrew Strauss said after his team's thumping final Test victory over Australia on Friday. Miranda Kerr gives birth: reports Australian supermodel Miranda Kerr has given birth to a baby boy in the US, according to reports. $200 million spent on swine flu pandemic Newly released documents show the Federal Government spent just over $200 million responding to the H1N1 influenza pandemic in 2009 and 2010.
The Drum	More from The Drum >
The globalised world and the Gaia Hypothesis In an interview with Dr Tim Flannery for The Science Show, we spoke of ants and mammoths and of Copenhagen, of climate and population, and of the Gaia Hypothesis. Can the earth appear to behave like an organism? Can it seem even conscious, in the way Dr Flannery implies? There have been some spectacular developments in what's called Complexity Science in recent years and in our understanding of the way systems interact. Old conflicts die hard Global media attention has focused on Sudan in recent weeks to an unprecedented extent. And it should. A referendum to be held this Sunday in the country's south will most likely result in the creation of a new nation state. The chance for peace in a region plagued by war is tantalising - the likelihood of a return to violence equally evocative. But one question that has not been adequately addressed in the world's press is why this referendum is necessary. A whale of a story It has never been a secret, as reported this week, that Australia has been seeking to 'cut a deal' with Japan so that it would drastically reduce or phase out its whaling operations. The reality is that the wheels of international justice turn very slowly. This creates opportunities for Australia to negotiate a diplomatic solution to this dispute which could be a turning point in the future of whale conservation. Shane Stone and the NTÂ's mandatory sentencing regime It is going too far to say that the cruel political opportunism of mandatory sentencing in the NT didn't go far enough. US Congress: get used to dramatics This week the 112th Congress will sit for the first time and already the expectations are that politics in America will become even more fractious. In the weeks before it sat the rhetoric was confrontational - 'gridlock' , 'repeal', investigate'. Don't listen to the talk of a desire for bipartisan cooperation, American politicians are set to spend the next two years fighting for the centre by defining the extremes.
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Pakistani government regains majority The Pakistani government has regained its majority after crisis talks in the southern city of Karachi. Obama upbeat on sharp unemployment drop US unemployment fell sharply from 9.8 per cent to 9.4 per cent in December, its lowest level since May 2009. Miranda Kerr gives birth: reports Australian supermodel Miranda Kerr has given birth to a baby boy in the US, according to reports.
Science & Technology	More Science & Technology Stories >
The globalised world and the Gaia Hypothesis How delightful it is, as ABC listeners turn from the wireless during these hedonistic days of summer (if you're not awash in Queensland) and as most Australians give current affairs a bit of a swerve, to know that the stalwarts at News Ltd are still tuning in. IVF breakthrough 'will increase chance of pregnancy' South Australian researchers say a breakthrough in IVF technology will increase the chances of women becoming pregnant. Jet skiers 'deliberately target' dolphins A baby dolphin calf found dead south-east of Melbourne was probably killed by a boat or jet ski.
Environment	More Environment Stories >
New Angeldool facing weeks of isolation Residents in and around the north western New South Wales township of New Angeldool near Lightning Ridge are warned to prepare for weeks of isolation. More dams won't solve water woes: expert One of Australia's leading researchers says building more dams will not solve the nation's water woes. Australia, France join forces on illegal fishing Australia and France will step up patrols for illegal fishing in the Southern Ocean under a new agreement signed by the two countries.
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