Ray-Ban Meta Glasses Get Smarter for Low Vision Users. Here's How
If you haven't heard, AI now has eyes, and Meta has announced some enhancements for its Ray-Ban Meta glasses. You can now customize Meta AI to give detailed responses based on what's in the surrounding environment for your smart glasses, Meta said in a blog post for Global Accessibility Awareness Day.
Artificial intelligence is opening a whole new world for accessibility, with new features coming out in droves. Tech giants like Google, Apple and Meta are putting forth a ton of effort to create a world where people with disabilities, such as low or no vision, can more easily interact with the world around them.
While Live AI for the Meta glasses has been around, the additional enhancements for low vision users will undoubtedly be welcomed.
Below are some of the other highlights from Meta's accessibility-focused blog post. For more, check out the glimpse of brain accessibility features headed to Apple devices.
'Call a volunteer' feature expanding to 18 countries
While not an AI-focused feature, the Meta and Be My Eyes feature, Call a Volunteer, will soon be expanding to all 18 countries that Meta AI is currently available in. Launched in November 2024 in The US, Canada, UK, Ireland and Australia, the expansion of Call a Volunteer will be a very handy (and hands-free) feature for low vision users.
Once set up, a Meta glasses user can simply ask AI to "Be My Eyes." From there, you'll be connected to one of over 8 million volunteers that will be able to view the live camera stream from your glasses and provide real-time assistance for whatever you need help with. The feature will be available to all supported countries later this month.
Meta additional research and accessibility features
Meta also detailed some of its existing features and research taking place in its effort to expand accessibility for its products, especially in the extended reality space.
Features like live captions and live speech are currently available on devices like the Quest, Meta Horizon and Horizon Worlds.
Also shown was a WhatsApp chatbot from Sign-Speaks that uses its API and Meta's Llama AI models. The chatbot allows live translation of American Sign Language to text and vice versa to create easier communication between deaf and hard of hearing individuals.
For more, don't miss the handful of new accessibility features announced by Apple.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
19 minutes ago
- Forbes
AI ROI Isn't Just Dollars: How To Measure Intangible Wins
Companies are investing millions in AI, but the biggest returns might be faster decisions, happier ... More teams and smarter workflows. Enterprises are pouring billions into AI. Retail companies alone plan to spend $33.2 million annually on AI initiatives, according to a 2025 IBM survey. But while some are already reporting wins — and others are still waiting for returns — industry experts say too many are asking the wrong question: Is AI making us richer? Instead, they say, the better question might be: Is it making us better? That shift in mindset is becoming essential today. Because, as more businesses deploy AI across their operations, the most valuable results aren't always the ones that show up in quarterly earnings. Sometimes the clearest wins come in faster decisions, smarter workflows and more satisfied employees. It's only natural for companies to prioritize financial gains when measuring the ROI on their AI investments. But according to experts like Adrienne Uthe, managing principal at Kronus Intelligence Group, that's not all that matters. 'Organizations can simply move much faster than ever before. Everyone can develop their own MVPs while solving problems at unprecedented speed. Junior workers gain more experience in a short period thanks to a healthy collaboration with their AI-driven sidekicks,' Uthe told me in an interview. Her argument is that like no other time in human history, professionals now have tools at their disposal that could make them more productive than ever. And there's real-world proof to support Uthe's claims. Consider the National Bank of Australia that, since it began using Microsoft 365 copilot, has drastically reduced the time spent on analyzing millions of security event logs. This increased efficiency has freed up valuable time for the company's engineers who can now apply their expertise to other pressing matters. The trend also aligns with a 2024 survey by PwC, which revealed over 80% of employees believe that the continuous use of generative AI tools will make them more efficient at work. And it's not just about doing more work faster. Companies like Elvee — which uses AI to help contact center agencies address employee attrition, retain top performers and recapture revenue — have also been at the backend of enabling employee performance with AI. In one particular example, Raz Dar, founder and CEO of Elvee, noted how their platform helped a manager notice that a top-performing contact center agent was quietly planning to quit. 'On the surface, it looked like everything was fine. The employee was a top performer. But the manager was shocked to see that the system showed the employee was at a high risk of leaving,' Dar said excitedly. The early alert gave the company time to intervene, rework the agent's schedule, and keep a key team member. No revenue changed hands, but something just as valuable happened: culture was preserved. And that, more than any dashboard metric, is what real AI ROI can look like. For Dar, this is another real-world pointer to the intangible but really powerful benefits of AI. He calls it 'culture-shaping AI,' emphasizing AI's role in helping to set the tone for employee performance and motivation across organizations. As more businesses begin to consider the impact of AI on their daily operations, it makes sense to spotlight the parameters to judge the value of the returns. When CEOs aren't thinking about monetary gains, they can consider other crucial things like employee satisfaction, customer feedback and even ethical concerns. 'Companies should track decision quality through accuracy rates, speed improvements, and confidence levels across key business processes. The best approach measures decision reversal rates and compares predicted versus actual outcomes. Focus on simple metrics that show whether AI-influenced decisions are actually better decisions,' said Brig Barker, managing principal at Kronus Intelligence Group. Uthe added that companies should focus on three areas: how fast decisions get made, how well information flows through the organization and how quickly teams can respond to market changes. 'If your workers say they enjoy greater satisfaction working with AI than before when they worked with it, then it means you're doing something right.' But employees aren't the only stakeholders AI affects. Customers matter, too, in the grand scheme of measuring AI ROI. How the users of an AI-powered product perceive it is crucial in determining whether it deserves to remain available or get pulled off the market. Seasoned customer experience expert Shep Hyken claims that more customers are feeling relaxed with the use of AI in service delivery. For instance, AI chatbots have become more popular in the last few years, enabling businesses to handle large volumes of customer complaints at a quicker pace than human support staff. In fact, the momentum of AI-powered customer support is so high that Hyken's annual CX survey showed 63% of U.S. customers expect more companies to adopt AI chatbots and other forms of automated customer support. In 2021, only 21% of respondents shared this sentiment. While the story of Klarna — which replaced 700 roles with AI chatbots in 2024 but quietly started rehiring for the same roles this year because its customers preferred human support — may cast a shadow over Hyken's claims, the forecast for AI in customer support looks good. Still, for companies whose clients don't speak highly of their AI deployment, it might be time to rethink their strategy and try again. AI ROI isn't just about cost savings or new revenue streams. It's about what changes — and improves — when AI becomes part of how a company works. While financial return may be the headline metric, especially when companies have poured significant capital into AI, it's not the only one that matters. Businesses must first decide why they're investing in AI — and only then decide what success actually looks like. If your AI investments end up making your employees work better and feel more satisfied, or they make your customers happier, or they make you, as a business leader, more efficient, then that's certainly a win. And as Dar said, 'these intangible wins often have tangible impact, even on finance. That's a win-win situation.' Uthe prescribes that companies should focus on decision speed, execution velocity and how fast teams can turn ideas into reality. She added that they must also track the time from problem identification to solution deployment, measure how AI amplifies their best people's capabilities and spread that performance across the organization. 'The goal,' she said 'should be to increase organizational acceleration.' Dar cautioned that replacing human agents with AI can backfire if you're not careful, explaining that many employees get spooked when they hear their company is piloting AI. But ironically, he noted that the best AI models need those same employees to train the system and handle the nuanced, emotional conversations AI can't. 'Retention is key if you want your AI to succeed,' he said.
Miami Herald
20 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
Small business AI adoption declines to just 28%
Small business AI adoption declines to just 28% Is artificial intelligence (AI) living up to the hype for small business owners? NEXT's recent survey of AI tool adoption for small businesses shows that many are dialing back. Independent operators rely on AI tools to be more efficient, and they're optimistic about its impact. But many more seem to have stopped incorporating AI into their business operations since they were last surveyed in 2024. And cost and complexity seem to be the barriers keeping them out. How many small businesses use AI? NEXT surveyed 1,500 small business owners in April 2025 to ask about their AI usage and plans for implementation. While 42% of small businesses reported using AI in 2024, our 2025 survey reveals a significant drop to just 28%. Why the loss of interest? Some small business owners, like Danilo Coviello, founding partner of translation agency Espresso Translations, use AI regularly, but worry that it can add business risk. He says, "I use AI behind the scenes to streamline prep, clean terminology, and test briefs-but not to replace translators or project managers. AI can't sense tone shifts, legal nuance or when a vague phrase could cost a client down the line. It doesn't ask follow-up questions or spot formatting issues across languages. That's where people still matter. Accuracy, accountability, and context still belong to humans." Enthusiasm for AI adoption seems to have cooled. Last year, 27% planned to increase their business' AI use. When asked in 2025, only 23% would "definitely consider" adding AI. This year, just 19%-roughly 1 in 5 business owners-might add it. And 58% say they don't plan to use AI for business at all. 7 ways small businesses are using AI While AI adoption seems to be down across the board, those that are using it are finding some business value. Survey data shows small businesses mostly use AI for content creation and marketing, customer service and product suggestions. Small businesses also use the technology to help streamline calendars and scheduling tasks, as well as accounting and payroll. 1. Personalized content and automated marketing "In 2025, the key to leveraging AI in your marketing is to let it help you, not replace you, as the expert," says marketing and AI expert Brendan Egan, founder and CEO of digital marketing agency Simple SEO Group. AI marketing tools can help small businesses create personalized content and promotions. And small business owners are clued in: According to NEXT's survey, 11% of respondents use AI for marketing and content, making it the top use case. Small business owners need to understand AI's limitations and how to use it well. Says Egan, "While AI can write content, doing so may harm your site's Google rankings. While AI can craft customer-facing emails, many companies have been caught sending something they may not want to because AI wrote it." And there is no shortage of tools to help you with your work. Jasper and can help automate copy creation. And Canva and Midjourney can assist with images and graphics. "Currently, we are advising small businesses to leverage AI to help them with their marketing and not do it for them," Egan says. "For example, if you're writing a blog for SEO purposes to drive more traffic to your site, ask AI to come up with an outline and some facts for you so it is easier and faster for you to write the content. Ask AI to help you come up with creative ideas for ads in your niche or suggestions for keywords." 2. Chatbots for immediate customer service information NEXT's survey found that 9% of small business owners use AI for customer service using tools like AI assistant chatbots. These smart bots can free up your time to focus on more complex customer interactions-and could even help with cross-sell or upsell opportunities. Look for AI-powered chatbot platforms that allow you to build customized chatbots without coding skills. 3. Product recommendation tools for customized experiences NEXT's survey shows that 8% of business owners use AI for product recommendations to help small businesses boost sales and increase customer loyalty. Platforms like Shopify's AI-powered recommendations or Amazon Personalize analyze a customer's purchase history and browsing patterns to suggest relevant products. 4. Virtual assistants for schedules and device control Virtual assistants such as Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant aren't just for personal tasks. They're helpful in business, too. NEXT's survey shows 8% of business owners use AI to manage schedules and appointments, set reminders, answer quick queries and control smart devices at work. 5. Accounting and payroll tools AI accounting and payroll tools can make financial management tasks easier, reduce errors and save time. 7% of small business owners already use these tools to operate their business, NEXT's study shows. Popular platforms such as Quickbooks, Xero, Gusto and Freshbooks already use AI technology to automate repetitive financial tasks such as invoice processing, track expenses and manage payroll. 6. Data analysis and visual reporting AI-powered data tools like IBM Watson and Google's Looker Studio can help businesses understand complicated data like weaknesses, opportunities, product pricing and forecasting. These tools use machine learning to spot patterns and create clear visual reports to help you make more informed business decisions. 7. Intelligent document processing for invoices, shipping, transcripts and more AI document tools can boost efficiency by pulling data from things like invoices, receipts and purchase orders to cut down on errors from manual data entry. And if your business paperwork is suddenly digital, it can be easier to store, sort and search. Translation company owner Coviello uses AI to, " … generate internal docs more quickly, edit the templates given to clients and review the translation briefs." But AI for these tasks could introduce liability: "We once translated a supplier contract from German and the AI completely misread embedded acronyms. A human translator flagged it in two minutes, double-checked with the client, and fixed it before it caused damage. AI just moved on. In our field, that's the problem." Common barriers to adopting AI for business "Business owners generally fall into two buckets when it comes to integrating AI," says Egan of Simple SEO Group. "Those that are using it too much, or those who are not using it at all. In our experience, there are very few businesses using AI 'properly'." NEXT's survey data reveals small business owners have mixed feelings about AI's impact. While some owners (12%) believe AI could boost revenue, and operational efficiency (12%), many remain unsure or skeptical about its value. Some believe AI won't affect their business in any way (9%), believe it's a threat to their business (9%) or that it will decrease their profits (7%). A few obstacles that hinder AI's adoption include: Cost of implementation Though AI can often help cut costs, the price of adopting AI remains a hurdle for small businesses. The Bipartisan Policy Center reports that 55% of small business owners identify cost as a reason to not use AI. Lack of education A 2025 survey by Service Direct found that 62% of small businesses cite a lack of understanding about AI's benefits as a barrier to adoption. Many small business owners still view artificial intelligence tools as too complicated or meant only for larger businesses. The challenge of data management Data helps AI make more accurate predictions. But collecting, organizing and analyzing data can be difficult for small businesses. A Hyperscience and Harris Poll study found half of organizations don't use AI for document processing or workflow improvements, and 77% underuse available data needed for accurate AI models. This story was produced by NEXT and reviewed and distributed by Stacker. © Stacker Media, LLC.
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Why two AI leaders are losing talent to startup Anthropic
Why two AI leaders are losing talent to startup Anthropic originally appeared on TheStreet. Many tech companies have announced layoffs over the past few months. In the case of Microsoft, () it's happened more than once. The rise of artificial intelligence has upended the job market in undeniable ways, prompting companies to either completely automate away some positions or scale back their hiring in other areas while increasing their reliance on chatbots and AI agents. 💵💰💰💵 As more and more companies opt for job cuts and shift focus toward implementing an AI-first strategy, questions abound as to which jobs will survive this technology revolution. The number of companies embracing this method includes prominent names such as Shopify and Box. Not every tech company is slashing its workforce, though. AI startup Anthropic isn't slowing down on its hiring. In fact, it is successfully attracting talent for several industry leaders, launching a new battle for AI talent as the industry continues to boom. Founded in 2021, Anthropic is still a fairly new company, although it is making waves in the AI market. Often considered a rival to ChatGPT maker OpenAI, it is best known for producing the Claude family, a group of large language models (LLMs) that have become extremely popular, particularly in the tech describes itself as an AI safety and research company with a focus on creating 'reliable, interpretable, and steerable AI systems.' Most recently, though, it has been in the spotlight after CEO Dario Amodei predicted that AI will wipe out many entry-level white-collar jobs. Even so, Amodei's own company is currently hiring workers for many different areas, including policy, finance, and marketing. But recent reports indicate that Anthropic has been on an engineering hiring spree as well lately, successfully poaching talent from two of its primary competitors. Venture capital firm SignalFire recently released its State of Talent Report for 2025, in which it examined hiring trends in the tech sector. This year's report showed that in an industry dependent on highly skilled engineers, Anthropic isn't just successfully hiring the best talent; it is retaining it. According to SignalFire's data, 80% of the employees hired by Anthropic at least two years remain with the startup. While DeepMind is just behind it with a 78% retention rate, OpenAI trails both with only 78%, despite ChatGPT's popularity among broad ranges of users. As always, the numbers tell the story, and in this case, they highlight a compelling trend that is already shaping the future of AI. The report's authors provide further context on engineers choosing Anthropic over its rivals, stating: 'OpenAI and DeepMind. Engineers are 8 times more likely to leave OpenAI for Anthropic than the reverse. From DeepMind, the ratio is nearly 11:1 in Anthropic's favor. Some of that's expected—Anthropic is the hot new startup, while DeepMind's larger, tenured team is ripe for movement. But the scale of the shift is striking.' More AI News: OpenAI teams up with legendary Apple exec One AI stock makes up 78% of Nvidia's investment portfolio Nvidia, Dell announce major project to reshape AI Tech professionals seeking out opportunities with innovative startups is nothing new. But in this case, all three companies are offering engineers opportunities to work on important projects. This raises the question of what Anthropic more appealing than its peers. AI researcher and senior software engineer Nandita Giri, spoke to TheStreet about this trend, offering insight into why tech workers may be making these decisions. She sees it as being about far more than financial matters.'Anthropic is making serious investments in transparency tooling, scaling laws, and red-teaming infrastructure, which gives technical contributors greater ownership over how systems are evaluated and evolved,' she states. 'Compared to OpenAI and DeepMind both of which are increasingly focused on product cycles Anthropic offers more freedom to pursue deep, foundational research.' However, other experts speculate that it may be more than that. Wyatt Mayham, a lead consultant at Northwest AI, share some insights from his team, stating 'What we've heard from clients is that it's simply easier to work there with less burnout. More worklife balance if you will.' Technology consultant Kate Scott adds that while all three companies are doing important work, she sees this trend as reflecting a shift in the broader industry, one that shows engineers seeking environments 'where organizational purpose and daily execution feel closely aligned,' something that Anthropic seems to be two AI leaders are losing talent to startup Anthropic first appeared on TheStreet on Jun 5, 2025 This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Jun 5, 2025, where it first appeared. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
