Privacy Concerns about AI Smart Glasses: A Cross-Cultural Study of the U.S. and South Korea

Newer AI smart glasses (AISG) enable users to unobtrusively capture photographs and videos, raising privacy issues for individuals who may remain unaware that they are being recorded. This cross-cultural online survey examined privacy perspectives between two technologically sophisticated yet culturally distinct societies, the United States and South Korea. The study investigated how bystander privacy considerations could guide AI smart glasses technology development and shape public opinions regarding technology governance. As predicted, South Koreans reported significantly greater privacy concerns, agreement with social norms supporting bystanders’ privacy rights, support for self-regulation, and support for both legal restrictions and technological solutions concerning the use of AISG. In both countries, individuals’ own privacy concerns were also positively correlated with these factors. Women in both countries exhibited greater privacy concerns. Participants’ age increased privacy concerns in the U.S., but age decreased concerns in South Korea.