The next computer? Your glasses | Shahram Izadi

Summary

TED Talks Daily: "The Next Computer? Your Glasses" by Shahram Izadi

Introduction to the Computing Revolution

In the April 17, 2025 episode of TED Talks Daily titled "The Next Computer? Your Glasses," host Elise Hu introduces Shahram Izadi, a pioneer in augmented reality (AR) and extended reality (XR) at Google. Izadi delves into the transformative potential of merging AI with wearable technology, envisioning a future where our glasses and headsets act as personal AI assistants, seamlessly integrating digital information with our physical world.

Shahram Izadi’s Journey and Vision

Izadi begins by reflecting on his 25-year journey in augmented reality, highlighting the early days of his PhD research where he aimed to fuse the real world with computing experiences. He acknowledges the parallel advancements in AI that have enabled computers to reason about the world, citing, “For our entire lives, we've been living for a computing revolution with leaps forward in compute, connectivity, mobile technologies, and now AI” (00:50).

He emphasizes the convergence of AI and XR as the next phase of this revolution, stating, “AI and XR are converging, unlocking radical new ways to interact with technology on your terms” (03:15). This synergy promises to make computers more lightweight, personal, and contextually aware, moving beyond traditional screens to immersive, conversational interfaces.

Integrating AI with XR: Android XR and Gemini

Izadi introduces Android XR, an operating system developed in collaboration with Samsung, which integrates XR hardware with Gemini, Google's AI assistant. This platform supports a wide range of devices, from glasses to headsets, with the flexibility to adapt to future form factors. He explains, “With Android XR, we’re building an operating system that brings XR hardware together with Gemini, our AI assistant to augment human intelligence” (03:45).

Demonstrations of Smart Glasses

To illustrate the capabilities of this technology, Izadi invites his colleague Nishtha to demonstrate smart glasses equipped with Gemini AI. The glasses feature a miniaturized camera, microphones, speakers, and a high-resolution lens display. During the live demo, Nishtha interacts with Gemini AI, showcasing its ability to:

• Visual and Auditory Integration: Gemini can see and hear the environment, responding to visual and auditory inputs in real-time. Nishtha asks Gemini to write a haiku based on her current view, and the AI responds promptly: “Faces all aglow. Eager minds await the words” (06:51).

• Memory and Contextual Awareness: The AI remembers past interactions without explicit prompts. When Nishtha inadvertently looks away, she asks Gemini about a book she briefly saw, and the AI accurately identifies it as "Atomic Habits by James Clear" (07:37).

• Multilingual Capabilities: Gemini seamlessly translates signs and conversations into different languages, including Farsi and Hindi, demonstrating its advanced language processing and translation abilities (08:42).

• Actionable Responses: The AI can perform tasks like summarizing complex diagrams and initiating actions such as playing music or navigating to specific locations. For instance, Nishtha requests Gemini to navigate her to Lighthouse Park, and the AI provides precise directions (10:13).

Izadi remarks, “This AI is inherently multimodal, so it's using visual data and natural language to digest complex queries in real time” (07:19), underscoring the sophisticated integration of AI with visual and contextual data.

Showcasing AI-Integrated Headsets

Transitioning from glasses to headsets, Izadi presents the Project Muhan headset developed by Samsung. He introduces his colleague Max, who demonstrates how the headset, powered by Gemini AI, enhances user interaction:

• Hands-Free Control: Max controls the system using his eyes, hands, and voice, with AI assisting in managing digital content seamlessly. When Max requests, “Hey, Gemini, can you bring up my trip planner for me, please?” the AI promptly opens the trip planner (12:28).

• Interactive Navigation and Information Retrieval: During the demo, Max asks Gemini to navigate to Cape Town, and the AI organizes his digital workspace while providing informative insights about locations like Table Mountain (13:02; 13:41).

• Immersive Experiences: The headset allows users to explore virtual environments, such as viewing 360-degree snowboarding videos with real-time assistance from Gemini. Max engages in playful interactions, asking Gemini to narrate a video in a horror movie style, showcasing the AI’s versatility and creativity (15:38).

Izadi highlights, “The AI is taking Max's request, figuring out how best to answer it, opening up the Maps app, and from there, he can actually explore anywhere in the world in this 3D view” (13:27), emphasizing the AI’s ability to integrate and act upon user commands fluidly.

Augmenting Human Intelligence

Concluding his talk, Izadi envisions a future where AI and XR not only augment our reality but also enhance our intelligence. He states, “A world where helpful AI will converge with lightweight XR devices will become increasingly more wearable, giving us instant access to information” (17:12). This integration aims to create personalized, conversational interfaces that work on users’ terms, significantly enriching daily interactions with technology.

Key Takeaways and Future Outlook

• Seamless Integration: The fusion of AI with AR and XR devices creates intuitive, immersive interfaces that blend digital and physical worlds.

• Contextual Awareness: AI assistants like Gemini can understand and respond to complex, multimodal inputs, providing personalized and contextually relevant assistance.

• Flexible and Wearable Technology: Lightweight, wearable devices such as glasses and headsets are becoming the next generation of computing platforms, offering versatile functionalities without the constraints of traditional screens.

• Enhanced Human Intelligence: By augmenting our cognitive abilities, AI and XR technologies empower users to navigate, learn, and interact with their environment more effectively.

Izadi concludes with an inspiring vision of the future, where AI-driven XR devices not only enhance our reality but also our inherent intelligence, paving the way for unprecedented advancements in how we interact with technology and the world around us.

Notable Quotes:

• “For our entire lives, we've been living for a computing revolution with leaps forward in compute, connectivity, mobile technologies, and now AI.” (00:50)

• “AI and XR are converging, unlocking radical new ways to interact with technology on your terms.” (03:15)

• “This AI is inherently multimodal, so it's using visual data and natural language to digest complex queries in real time.” (07:19)

• “The AI is taking Max's request, figuring out how best to answer it, opening up the Maps app, and from there, he can actually explore anywhere in the world in this 3D view.” (13:27)

• “A world where helpful AI will converge with lightweight XR devices will become increasingly more wearable, giving us instant access to information.” (17:12)

Conclusion

Shahram Izadi's presentation on TED Talks Daily offers a visionary glimpse into the future of computing, where AI and XR technologies converge to create intelligent, wearable devices that seamlessly integrate with our daily lives. Through engaging demonstrations and insightful discussions, Izadi illustrates how these advancements will not only transform our interaction with technology but also enhance our cognitive capabilities, paving the way for a new era of augmented intelligence.

Transcript

[Elise Hu]

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[Shahram Izadi]

On.

[Elise Hu]

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[Shahram Izadi]

For our entire lives, we've been living for a computing revolution with leaps forward in compute, connectivity, mobile technologies, and now AI. For my part, I've dedicated my entire career to augmented reality, fusing the real world with computing experiences. I started this journey about 25 years ago for my PhD. It might sound groundbreaking. The technology was really primitive back then, but the potential felt limitless when we were experimenting in that university lab. What I didn't know at that time was many of the fundamental innovations for my work would come from AI researchers in a different lab. While I was helping computers see the world, these AI researchers were helping computers reason about the world. Since then, large language models and multimodal reasoning have enabled richer language and image understanding. These models are now fast enough for live conversations where the AI can act on your behalf and most importantly, with your permission. Augmented reality and virtual reality has moved computing from the rectangular screen to to the 360 immersive display to now even the world itself becoming the display. We now refer to this broad collection of experiences as extended reality, or xr. Until now, these innovations have occurred separately and in silos. Well, Here comes Act 2 of the computing revolution. AI and XR are converging, unlocking radical new ways to interact with technology on your terms. Computers will become more lightweight and personal. They will share your vantage point, understand your real world context, and have a natural interface that's both simple and conversational. Countless people and companies are innovating in this space. We're excited to contribute to this momentum with Android xr. It's an operating system we're building with Samsung that brings XR hardware together with Gemini, our AI assistant to augment human intelligence. It can support a broad range of devices, from headsets to glasses to form factors we haven't even dreamed of yet. Okay, let me show you where we're heading by inviting my colleague Nishtha to the stage. Welcome, Nishta.

[Nishta]

Hi.

[Shahram Izadi]

These ordinary looking glasses are packed full of technology. A miniaturized camera and microphones give the AI the ability to see and hear the world. Speakers let you listen to the AI and play music or even take calls. And these glasses also have a tiny high resolution in lens display that's full color that I'm holding in my hand. It's very, very small. These glasses work with your phone streaming back and forth, allowing the glasses to be very lightweight and access all your phone apps. And if you're wondering, I'm actually wearing the glasses too. They're actually helping me see all of you in the audience because they have prescription lenses inside them, but they're also displaying my speaker notes for me as well. And this is the very first time we're showing these glasses in public. So this is going to be a live demo of conceptual hardware, early software. What could go wrong? Nishta, best of luck. No pressure.

[Nishta]

Amazing. Now I'm going to launch Gemini.

[Gemini AI]

Hello there.

[Nishta]

Hi, Gemini. Can you start us off with something fun and creative and write a haiku for what I'm seeing right now?

[Gemini AI]

Sure. Faces all aglow. Eager minds await the words.

[Shahram Izadi]

Sparks of thought ignite some anxious but happy faces as well. Yeah, the AI sees what Nishta sees, hears what she hears, and is responding in real time. But that's just table stakes. Let's actually step it up a notch with something we call memory. For a rolling contextual window, the AI remembers what you see without having to be told what to keep track of.

[Nishta]

So you guys may have noticed I snuck a peek back at the shelf a moment ago. I wasn't paying attention, but let's see if Gemini was. Hey, did you happen to catch the title of the white book that was on the shelf behind me?

[Gemini AI]

The white book is Atomic habits by James Clear.

[Nishta]

That is absolutely right. So let's try something harder. I keep losing my hotel key card. Do you know where I last left the card?

[Gemini AI]

The hotel key card is to the right of the music record.

[Nishta]

Great.

[Shahram Izadi]

For someone as forgetful as me, that's a killer app. Okay, this AI Is inherently multimodal, so it's using visual data and natural language to digest complex queries in real time while remembering your past context. Nishta, let's see some more.

[Nishta]

Yeah, let's bring this book back. So I don't really have time to read it right now, but I wonder if Gemini might be able to help me summarize what's going on. Like, I don't know. What does this diagram mean? It looks complex.

[Gemini AI]

This diagram is labeled the habit line and illustrates the process of habit formation. It shows how automaticity increases with repetitions until a habit is formed.

[Shahram Izadi]

Okay, now imagine being able to communicate and understand any language. The AI can shift its output to speak different languages with dialects and accents that feel human and natural.

[Nishta]

Yeah, let's go to this sign over here. Can you translate this to English for me?

[Gemini AI]

The sign states, private property. No trespassing.

[Shahram Izadi]

Okay, let's prove this is a live demo. Does anyone in the audience have a suggestion for a different language to translate to Farsi? We tried Farsi. It failed. Last time, but let's try it again.

[Nishta]

Do you want to try Farsi? We can try. Okay.

[Shahram Izadi]

Because I do speak Farsi, so it's my mother tongue, so. Thank you.

[Nishta]

Gemini, let's just give this a shot. Can you translate this sign to Farsi for us?

[Shahram Izadi]

Great. Awesome. It speaks Farsi.

[Nishta]

That's amazing. So, as Shiram mentioned, you all may have seen translation demos like this before, but what's new now is that in addition to just saying things in a different language, I can also speak to Gemini in another language. I know Hindi. So let's give this a shot. So, Gemini said you all look focused and excited. Anna has a better accent than I do.

[Shahram Izadi]

All right, now let's see how the AI can connect the physical world with your digital content. And take action.

[Nishta]

Yeah. Let's get some music going in here. Okay, Gemini, why don't you play us a track from this record?

[Gemini AI]

Sure. Here's Bad Dreams by Teddy Swims.

[Shahram Izadi]

Perfect. In a few seconds, the AI recognized the album, looked up the track list, and took action using the phone apps. Okay, Nishta, it does look like the demo gods are with us. Maybe with you more than me. Let's do one last demo. I know you're keen to give.

[Nishta]

Yes. This is my first time in Vancouver and I love going on walks. So why don't you navigate me to a park nearby with views of the ocean?

[Gemini AI]

Okay. I am starting navigation to Lighthouse park, which has magnificent views of the Pacific Ocean. Is there anything else I can assist you with?

[Nishta]

Honestly, with these directions and a 3D map, I should be all set. And hopefully I won't look like a tourist. Thank you all.

[Shahram Izadi]

Thank you, Nishta. That was awesome. Okay, we've seen glasses. Now let's turn our attention to the other side of the spectrum. Headsets. You've seen these types of devices before, but when we first brought AI to a headset, it completely caught me by surprise. For this demo, we're going to use the Project Muhan headset that Samsung is launching later this year. Compared to glasses, headsets give you an infinite display for getting work done or immersing yourself in a movie or maybe a TED Talk at some point. Let me bring up my colleague Max to show us even more. Hey, Max.

[Max]

Hello.

[Shahram Izadi]

Go for it, Max.

[Max]

Let's do it. You'll notice we start grounded in the real world, and I'm going to control the entire system with my eyes, hands, and voice. But where things get really interesting is when we invite Gemini in as this conversational companion that can come with Us anywhere.

[Gemini AI]

Hello.

[Max]

Hey, Gemini, can you bring up my trip planner for me, please?

[Gemini AI]

Of course. Opening up your trip planner.

[Shahram Izadi]

Cool.

[Max]

But I left these windows really disorganized. Can you help with that?

[Gemini AI]

Of course I can help with that.

[Shahram Izadi]

No clicks, no keyboards. It's just a conversation. And the AI is taking action. Okay, some more audience participation. Someone shout out a name of a place you want to visit.

[Elise Hu]

Melbourne.

[Max]

Cape Town.

[Shahram Izadi]

Cape Town. Let's go to Cape Town.

[Max]

Okay. Sounds fun. Can you please take me to Cape Town?

[Gemini AI]

Certainly. Let me help with organizing the windows.

[Max]

Awesome. And can you also take me to Cape Town?

[Gemini AI]

I can certainly do that. Let me take you to Cape Town.

[Max]

And we're very organized as we go there. Perfect.

[Shahram Izadi]

The AI is taking Max's request, figuring out how best to answer it, opening up the Maps app, and from there, he can actually explore anywhere in the world in this 3D view.

[Max]

Okay, this is pretty incredible. Viewing the world from this angle, I can even zoom into city levels. But what's really interesting is having an AI here who can see what I see. Can you tell me more about the significance of this place?

[Gemini AI]

I can indeed provide information about Table Mountain. Table Mountain holds a profound significance, deeply rooted in both its natural splendor and its rich cultural history. It has long been a spiritual and cultural symbol for the indigenous Koikoi and San people.

[Max]

It stands very good, Gemini.

[Shahram Izadi]

Okay, Max, let's bring this closer to home. How about exploring winter sports? Seeing that we're in Vancouver.

[Max]

Okay, let's get some inspiration for Shiram. Can you please show me 360 videos of this?

[Gemini AI]

Sure. Here are some 360 degree powder snowboarding videos.

[Max]

Okay. I'm kind of new to snowboarding, so hopefully this video will help me learn. Although this looks already way more intense than I think I'm ready for. What was the name of that trick?

[Gemini AI]

That's a backside 540 with a grab.

[Shahram Izadi]

The AI knows exactly what Max is looking at, even in rich video content, and can answer any question in real time. Max, are you sure this is Whistler?

[Max]

You know, Sram, I actually have no idea. I've never been here before. But let's find out. What run do you think this is?

[Gemini AI]

It's probably one of the ungroomed runs in Summit bowl or the top section of West Ridge on Mount Bachelor as they are close to the summit and face north towards Three Sisters and Broken Top, the prominent mountains visible in the background.

[Max]

Okay, Mount Bachelor, Oregon. Got it.

[Shahram Izadi]

Okay, let's have a little bit of fun now. Let's Have AI narrate this video. Somebody in the audience shout out a fun narration style, like nature documentary or something. Like that movie trailer. Carl Sticker Horror movie. That's gonna be. It might be gory, but let's go for it.

[Max]

Slightly dark, but let's do it. Can you please describe what you're seeing as if you're an overly enthusiastic character in a horror movie?

[Gemini AI]

Oh, darling, this is simply marvelous. A desolate mountainscape. How delightfully ominous. Prepare for a chilling dance with the unknown. Or where every gust of wind whispers tales of icy terror and lurking shadows.

[Max]

Okay, Jim and I. That's great. Return to more positive things another day. Yeah.

[Shahram Izadi]

Okay, Max, I know there's one last demo and you've been apparently practicing your farming skills.

[Max]

Yes, sram. I've been excited to get back to my rural roots and also embrace one of my favorite things, which is playing games. But it becomes a whole new next level experience when you have an AI by your side. Both to help keep you company as you play, but also to help you learn how to play these kind of games in the first place. So, for example, what do you think I should do next here?

[Gemini AI]

It looks like this is early in the game. In Stardew Valley, you need to earn money, so try planting some seeds first. Use your hoe to till the soil and then plant your seeds. It looks like you have some parsnips since it isn't raining. You'll also need to water them with your watering can.

[Max]

Okay, seems like a lot. And maybe robots will do this for us one day. But for now, I'm going to have to return back to my farm later for one last thing. Can you please give a playful two sentence summary of all the ground we covered today?

[Gemini AI]

We soared from organizing a digital realm to traversing snowy mountains, and even found time to farm some virtual parsnips. Quite the adventure today.

[Max]

Quite the adventure indeed. Thanks, Gemini.

[Shahram Izadi]

Fantastic. Thank you, Max. We're entering an exciting new phase of the computing revolution. Headsets and glasses are just the beginning. All this points to a single vision of the future. A world where helpful AI will converge with lightweight XR XR devices will become increasingly more wearable, giving us instant access to information. While AI is going to become more contextually aware, more conversational, more personalized. Working with us on our terms and in our language, we're no longer augmenting our reality, but rather augmenting our intelligence. Thank you so much.

[Elise Hu]

That was Shiram Izadi at TED 2025. And for a special treat, visit Ted.com to watch Shiram's many demos in action. If you're curious about TED's curation, find out [e-mail] curationguidelines and that's it for today's show. TED Talks Daily is part of the TED Audio Collective. This episode was produced and edited by our team, Martha Estefanos, Oliver Friedman, Brian Greene, Lucy Little, Alejandra Salazar and Tonsika Sarmarnivon. It was mixed by Christopher Faizy Bogan. Additional support from Emma Tobner and Daniela Balaurazo. I'm Elise Hu. I'll be back tomorrow with a fresh idea for your feedback. Thanks for listening.

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