Imagine walking through your day—every conversation, every complex question, every fleeting thought—captured, transcribed, and augmented with answers in real time, right before your eyes. That’s the bold promise of Halo X, an emerging wearable from two former Harvard students. But as “vibe thinking” becomes high-tech shorthand for offloading cognition to an always-on device, society must ask: how far are we willing to let AI entrench itself into our lives, and at what cost?
From Harvard Dorm to Hacker Hostel
An intriguing origin story lies behind Halo X: founders AnhPhu Nguyen and Caine Ardayfio—once students at Harvard—developed a facial recognition app for Meta’s Ray‑Ban glasses that surfaced privacy concerns over doxing, provoking controversy rather than acclaim. Since then, they’ve relocated to San Francisco’s own “Hacker Hostel” to incubate Halo, a startup promising to bring “infinite memory” in a pair of glasses.
What the Glasses Do—and Don’t Do
Priced at $249 and open for pre-orders as of Wednesday, August 20, 2025, Halo X actively listens to every conversation, instantly records and transcribes them, and displays relevant real-time information on its lens. Think of it as having your personal assistant whispering answers to hard questions like “What’s 37 to the third power?” or supplying definitions mid-conversation.
While the device boasts smart features, it’s tethered to your smartphone for processing power—Halo X lacks a camera and uses your phone to run AI models. Google’s Gemini handles math and reasoning, while Perplexity scours the internet for information. Audio transcription runs through Soniox, which the founders say doesn’t store recordings. Future versions aim for encryption and SOC 2 compliance.
Privacy by Default—Or Lack Thereof
Unlike Meta’s Ray‑Ban glasses, which include a small LED indicator to signal recording, Halo X currently broadcasts audio without visible cues. That poses legal and ethical concerns, especially in states requiring two-party consent for recordings. The founders place the responsibility squarely on users, who must navigate these laws themselves. Privacy advocates warn that always-on devices erode the expectation of conversational privacy—even in casual, everyday interactions.
The Ethics Behind “Vibe Thinking”
The Halo founders frame their innovation as “vibe thinking” and claim their glasses can make users “super intelligent” instantly. However, this framing glosses over broader societal implications. Always listening—even in intimate or confidential settings—may normalize surveillance. Privacy groups worry this technology chips away at our right to privacy, one interaction at a time.
A Swift Dive into Context
Halo X isn’t alone in the AI wearables race. At CES 2025, products like Bee AI’s bracelet and Omi’s head-worn device also showcased continuous listening capabilities and real-time assistance. Yet the privacy dilemmas they raise mirror those posed by Halo X.
Meanwhile, other companies like Brilliant Labs are taking a different tack. Their Halo (unrelated in name to Halo X) smart glasses—slim, proactive, and memory-augmenting—are launching in November 2025 with a clear emphasis on user control and narrative enhancement, priced at $299. But even these carry flags of concern over personal data and “always-on” recall.
Why It Matters
Halo X embodies a critical crossroads in wearable tech. Its allure—seamless cognitive assistance—might usher in unprecedented convenience for students, professionals, or anyone craving memory reinforcement. Yet, without built-in privacy safeguards and conscientious use, we risk normalizing unchecked surveillance. The choice before us isn’t just about technological novelty—it’s about defining where the boundary lies between helpful enhancement and invasive oversight.
In Summary
- Origins & Vision: Created by two ex‑Harvard students behind a controversial facial‑recognition app; now tapping into AI to deliver “infinite memory.”
- Features & Functionality: Always-on audio recording, real-time transcriptions and answers, smartphone-powered, with Gemini and Perplexity fueling AI.
- Legal & Ethical Gaps: No recording indicator, user has laid responsibility, potential violations in two-party consent jurisdictions.
- Wider Industry View: Part of a broader trend of listening wearables; contrasting approaches like Brilliant Labs’ Halo show divergent design philosophies.
Halo X treads a compelling path—merging AI with human cognition. But as it listens ever more deeply, society must ask: when does convenience cross the line into intrusiveness?
