Google Co-Founder Seen With Futuristic Glasses on NYC Subway — But Was He Actually Able to Use Them?
As Google continues to develop its augmented reality glasses, the company’s co-founder Sergey Brin appears to be trying to acclimate the public to cyborg-like technology. Most recently, he was spotted on a New York City subway wearing the high-tech specs.
Noah Zerkin snapped the picture of Brin wearing the glasses and posted it on Twitter saying “Yeeeah … just had a brief conversation with the most powerful man in the world.”

Zerkin tweeted out this photo and started answering an influx of questions. (Image: Twitter/@noazark)
The augmented reality glasses being developed by Google’s high-tech research arm dubbed Google X were showcased to the public for the first time in April 2012 and a few months later were offered to software developers to test for $1,500. The glasses were even worn by models walking the runway in Diane von Furstenberg’s collection in September.
The glasses, which were named one of Time magazine’s best inventions of 2012, are someday expected to put things like the wearer’s email before their very eyes or enable them check an actual weather report while looking out they are out the window. In essence, the glasses allow for similar capabilities as a smartphone, but the specs are hands-free and the screen is only something the wearer can see.
But just how realistic was it for Brin to wear them on the NYC subway last week? Zerkin said on Twitter that Brin most likely wouldn’t have had a Wi-Fi connection on the train. This isn’t to say that Brin just didn’t want to take them off and put them in a bag, so he kept them on for the ride.

Brin wearing the glasses on an NYC subway train. (Photo: Noah Zerkin via Twitter)
Zerkin, a self-described augmented reality and wearable computing enthusiast, wrote about the run-in with Brin on his blog. Here are some of his thoughts:
I asked if I could take his picture and he smiled and consented. I asked how the project was coming along and how he liked where it was right now. Of course he told me that he loved it and that it was coming along really well. Somehow, though, I just didn’t trust my own eyes enough to believe it was really Sergey Brin sitting across from me. I mean, I’ve seen the dude’s private jetliner with my own eyes while working out at NASA Ames in my previous job. What would he be doing on the subway? Aside from the fact that he has a ginormous corporate facility and an apartment here.
Zerkin found out from Brin that the Google Glass Explorer Edition (the one for software developers) is expected to ship out in the next couple months.
Read Zerkin’s full account of his conversation with Brin here.
Watch Google’s initial reveal of the Google Glasses:
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davidwjohnson
Posted on January 23, 2013 at 9:57amIf you think “texting” while driving is a problem, wait until these glasses come out.
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Thatsitivehadenough
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 10:35pmOh great. Now the schizophrenics will have company wherever they go and those voices in their head will blend with everything else.
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ButResistWeMuch
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 8:08pmShould we all scrub the pictures of ourselves from our social websites??
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rafa2design
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 7:18pmI can only imagine the damage these will do to young eyes as they get older… Your eyes aren’t designed to be focusing back and forth between different fields of view and then add activities such as driving or riding a bike… insurance companies will have a ball.
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ZombieKing
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 4:16pmNow when you walk into a store they will know who you are and everything you’ve ever bought there. Could be a good thing except for the fact that maybe you don’t want employees knowing what you’ve bought in the past.
Also this would be a great help to control criminals. Shoplifter walks into the store? Every employee knows it. Any other type of criminal? Your face is getting recorded or everyone will already know it.
Of course this will be abused and there lies the problem. We seem unable as a species to not abuse technology.
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frust@ted
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 3:35pmSoon cameras will be on the glasses and will identify who you are looking at, and provide information. Not to mention the glasses will use retina scans do identify who you are instead off a password.
I don’t fear technology, my fear is how that technology will chose to be used.
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Disgusted_in_CT
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 8:03pmYour behind the times, they already do that in some stores with dummys -(not the people working there) Their eyes are cameras and have face recognition software.
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AbrahamsSheepdog
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 2:19pmWith smart shoes, appliances, cars, ect… that’s nuts. Does it come in helmet with night viz? When popping wheelies I could use that email too… or dirtbike jump & skypeat same time. Wow can Barry give me 1 of these new boma phone glasses?
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housetops
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 2:15pmResistance is futile my arse.
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ainthurtinnobody
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 2:05pmJust what I need another screen giving me useless information. One brief moment to collect my thoughts and my dam glasses keep sending me emails. What a blessing. Tell me we’re not a bunch of mind numbed robots. Like the man said about TV “why do you think they call it programming.”
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lid.smoker
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 2:03pmExcellent, now we can help disturbed kids doped up on psychiatric meds become further confused about reality with these glasses. Come on kids, shot the devil projected onto your eyeglass lenses, kill him before he kills you.
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spfoam1
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 1:48pmSorry I ran into your car, I couldn’t see you behind my email.
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sandrunner
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 1:46pmgive me the directions to my execution and notify family members of my untimely death…thank you
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Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 1:08pmNo thanks, this is a non-interest for me anymore.
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BODYBAG
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 1:07pmSomeone should start a website that isnt full of glitches and bugs and gives you a “log in to comment” after every post.
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circleDwagons
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 1:02pmI want a pair
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cantstandlibs
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 1:49pmthanks for admitting you don’t have a pair ))
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CanteenBoy
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 2:45pmBam!
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engineerairborne
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 1:00pmSo does this mean that Google will be joining the Military Industrial Complex, or will they just cry when the military finds another company to develop this for military use?
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Gonzo
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 12:55pmSharp dresser.
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Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 1:46pmNo kidding, is he in mourning, going to a funeral, or playing ninja-man? Looks like a terrorist to me.
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