Why Meta’s Smart Ray-Ban Sunglasses Are Catching On

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[00:00:18] [SPEAKER_01]: Welcome to Tech News Briefing. It's Wednesday, September 25th.

[00:00:23] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm Zoe Thomas for The Wall Street Journal.

[00:00:26] [SPEAKER_01]: Mind the gap. That is, the cybersecurity workforce gap. And it's growing, according

[00:00:32] [SPEAKER_01]: to industry professionals. We'll tell you why and how companies are trying to fill it.

[00:00:37] [SPEAKER_01]: And then, Meta is expected to unveil a new version of its tech-enabled glasses today.

[00:00:43] [SPEAKER_01]: We'll explain why analysts say the Meta Smart Ray-Bans have become a hit.

[00:00:58] [SPEAKER_01]: But first, cybersecurity is top of mind for many company leaders.

[00:01:03] [SPEAKER_01]: But as businesses introduce new artificial intelligence tools,

[00:01:06] [SPEAKER_01]: leaders in the field say they are struggling to find cybersecurity professionals with the

[00:01:11] [SPEAKER_01]: right level of AI experience. Here to tell us more is WSJ Pro Cybersecurity Reporter, Catherine Stupp.

[00:01:19] [SPEAKER_01]: Catherine, how big is the need for cybersecurity professionals right now?

[00:01:23] [SPEAKER_03]: So the workforce gap is what it's called and what people working in cybersecurity refer to.

[00:01:30] [SPEAKER_03]: It grows every year. And right now, it's about 4.8 million professionals around the world.

[00:01:34] [SPEAKER_03]: This is according to what people in cybersecurity say are the number of professionals needed to

[00:01:40] [SPEAKER_03]: actually properly secure the organizations and companies that they work in. So that does sound

[00:01:46] [SPEAKER_03]: pretty alarming. They're basically saying we don't have the adequate number of staff. It doesn't mean,

[00:01:50] [SPEAKER_03]: just to be clear, that there are 4.8 million unfilled jobs in cybersecurity out there right

[00:01:55] [SPEAKER_03]: now. It means that lots of people in cybersecurity say that there is a need to hire more people,

[00:02:02] [SPEAKER_03]: even at their own companies. So there's a gap of people basically in the profession.

[00:02:09] [SPEAKER_01]: I guess within that, where are some of the skills gaps that these professionals are seeing?

[00:02:13] [SPEAKER_03]: This year, according to a survey that was just done from a few months ago, the top skill that

[00:02:19] [SPEAKER_03]: cybersecurity professionals say that they need is in applying artificial intelligence and machine

[00:02:25] [SPEAKER_03]: learning expertise to cybersecurity. And after that, the second most needed skill is in cloud

[00:02:31] [SPEAKER_01]: computing security. You're reporting that many AI security professionals are self-taught.

[00:02:37] [SPEAKER_01]: Why does that matter when we're talking about filling jobs?

[00:02:40] [SPEAKER_03]: It basically means that there aren't standardized qualifications that are listed in job ads,

[00:02:46] [SPEAKER_03]: and there aren't specific professional certifications that companies are asking

[00:02:51] [SPEAKER_03]: job candidates for at this stage. So a lot of cybersecurity jobs do ask for those cybersecurity

[00:02:58] [SPEAKER_03]: certifications to demonstrate somebody knows a different type of niche area,

[00:03:03] [SPEAKER_03]: and AI security is more of an outlier in that.

[00:03:06] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm curious if this mismatch of supply and demand, demand for professionals with these AI skills,

[00:03:12] [SPEAKER_01]: and maybe a lack of supply of them, how that's playing out in something like job postings?

[00:03:17] [SPEAKER_03]: For several years, a lot of people working in cybersecurity have complained that

[00:03:21] [SPEAKER_03]: job postings in cybersecurity generally are often really unrealistic and

[00:03:26] [SPEAKER_03]: list off tons of qualifications needed for an entry-level job. And some of the people working

[00:03:32] [SPEAKER_03]: in corporate cybersecurity that I've talked to said this is now definitely happening with these

[00:03:38] [SPEAKER_03]: AI-specific cybersecurity roles. It's still a fairly new field, but a lot of companies are

[00:03:43] [SPEAKER_03]: posting job listings that just ask for really unrealistic kinds of skills.

[00:03:49] [SPEAKER_01]: So how are companies going about addressing this gap?

[00:03:53] [SPEAKER_03]: Companies, especially bigger companies, are now really commonly offering employees in-house

[00:03:58] [SPEAKER_03]: training on AI cybersecurity. There's apparently really high demand from what a lot of people I've

[00:04:05] [SPEAKER_03]: spoken to have told me among employees to receive some kind of training on AI systems. It's a kind

[00:04:10] [SPEAKER_03]: of a hot area that a lot of people want to work in or at least know more about. And sometimes that

[00:04:15] [SPEAKER_03]: cybersecurity component of AI is folded into a broader in-house training program that touches

[00:04:20] [SPEAKER_03]: on a lot of different areas of AI. That was our reporter, Katherine Stupp.

[00:04:25] [SPEAKER_01]: Coming up, Facebook parent Meta has touted its virtual reality headset as the way to experience

[00:04:32] [SPEAKER_01]: the Metaverse. But it turns out customers may want something a lot simpler when it comes to eyewear.

[00:04:38] [SPEAKER_02]: We'll tell you about it after the break. With Ecolab Science Certified, we take cleaning off

[00:04:49] [SPEAKER_02]: your plate so you can focus on what's most important to your restaurant, your guests,

[00:04:53] [SPEAKER_02]: and having them switch from giving your restaurant a go to making it a go-to spot.

[00:04:57] [SPEAKER_02]: Ecolab Science Certified, count on the scientific clean. Learn more at sciencecertified.com.

[00:05:08] [SPEAKER_01]: When Meta launched its first generation of smart Ray-Ban glasses in 2021,

[00:05:14] [SPEAKER_01]: it received a tepid response from the market. Meta sold about 300,000 pairs of the glasses

[00:05:19] [SPEAKER_01]: in 18 months. And two years later, less than 10% of purchases were still being actively used.

[00:05:25] [SPEAKER_01]: Flash forward to the second generation, and things have changed.

[00:05:29] [SPEAKER_01]: Meta's smart Ray-Bans, which can take pictures, record video, and have some AI features,

[00:05:34] [SPEAKER_01]: are a hit. The company has shipped more than 700,000 pairs according to data provider IDC.

[00:05:41] [SPEAKER_01]: So what's changed? And what does it mean for the latest smart glasses Meta is expected to

[00:05:46] [SPEAKER_01]: unveil today at its annual developer conference? Here to tell us is our reporter, Megan Bobrowski.

[00:05:52] [SPEAKER_01]: So Megan, what do we know about the next generation of Meta's smart glasses?

[00:06:31] [SPEAKER_01]: So that's augmented reality glasses. How does the success of Meta's smart glasses compare to what

[00:06:38] [SPEAKER_01]: other tech companies have experienced with similar products?

[00:07:22] [SPEAKER_00]: Recording content and uploading it to social media platforms like Instagram, for instance.

[00:07:28] [SPEAKER_01]: Tell us a little bit more about that. What have creators said to you about how they feel using

[00:07:31] [SPEAKER_00]: these kinds of glasses? Yeah. So I spoke to a creator who lives in Stockholm, Sweden,

[00:07:38] [SPEAKER_00]: and he said that he had wanted to make these sorts of videos. You go up to people on the street and

[00:07:45] [SPEAKER_00]: you ask them questions and you record their responses. And so he wanted to do this. And so

[00:07:50] [SPEAKER_00]: he needed someone to go with him to record these videos. And he asked his brother, his brother said

[00:07:55] [SPEAKER_00]: he was too busy. Then these glasses come out. And so he's able now to wear the glasses and just click

[00:08:01] [SPEAKER_00]: a button that says record. And then is able to record these interviews with people on the street

[00:08:08] [SPEAKER_00]: without having to involve another person. Some creators think it helps them create the content

[00:08:13] [SPEAKER_00]: that they need. And it also gives you the perspective of you're seeing what I would be

[00:08:18] [SPEAKER_00]: seeing. So it also unlocks avenues to make new types of content. Something that the creator I

[00:08:24] [SPEAKER_01]: spoke to said he liked as well. And based on the analysts that you spoke to, why have Meta's

[00:08:30] [SPEAKER_00]: glasses been an unexpected success? One said that Meta really focused on who they were targeting

[00:08:37] [SPEAKER_00]: these glasses for this time around. So creators and really made sure to get the glasses in front

[00:08:42] [SPEAKER_00]: of creators and allow them to test them out and see how they potentially could be useful for their

[00:08:49] [SPEAKER_00]: jobs. Another just seemed to think that the product was good and that might be enough to propel them

[00:08:55] [SPEAKER_00]: forward. Another thing to keep in mind here is, and this could obviously change, but as of now

[00:09:00] [SPEAKER_00]: there doesn't seem to be the same privacy concerns that happened with Google Glass. And from the

[00:09:07] [SPEAKER_00]: people I've talked to, they said maybe things that were once controversial are not controversial

[00:09:12] [SPEAKER_00]: anymore. Another person I spoke to said it could be that these glasses are popular with Gen Z and

[00:09:20] [SPEAKER_00]: Gen Z is used to being filmed or has grown up in this environment where people are filmed all the

[00:09:25] [SPEAKER_01]: time. Do you know how the sales of Meta's smart glasses compare with its Quest 3 mixed reality

[00:09:30] [SPEAKER_01]: headset? Because Meta made a big bet on the Metaverse which relies on those headsets.

[00:09:36] [SPEAKER_00]: We do not have current sales data for the newest glasses, but what we do have is shipment data and

[00:09:43] [SPEAKER_00]: the Quest 3 virtual reality headsets, Meta is still shipping more of those than they are of

[00:09:49] [SPEAKER_00]: the glasses. So we're not quite at a point yet where we can say that the glasses have been

[00:09:55] [SPEAKER_00]: more popular than the virtual reality headsets. But with the trajectory that you're seeing,

[00:10:00] [SPEAKER_00]: some analysts think that the smart glasses will surpass the virtual reality headsets.

[00:10:07] [SPEAKER_01]: And what do we know about Meta's partnership with Essilor Luxottica, the maker of Ray-Ban?

[00:10:13] [SPEAKER_00]: So Meta years ago partnered with this eyewear giant that's an Italian company. They own lots

[00:10:19] [SPEAKER_00]: of brands. So they own Ray-Ban, they own Oakley, even beyond glasses, they own Supreme. Essilor

[00:10:24] [SPEAKER_00]: Luxottica recently came out and said that they're expanding their partnership with Meta.

[00:10:29] [SPEAKER_00]: So they've been happy with how the sales are going and are committing to building many more smart

[00:10:34] [SPEAKER_00]: glasses and many more glasses with Meta. In July, we had a story about how Meta was exploring buying

[00:10:41] [SPEAKER_00]: a 5% stake in this eyewear company. That happened, Google and some other companies were also

[00:10:48] [SPEAKER_00]: interested in partnerships with the eyewear maker. And so you've just sort of seen this

[00:10:53] [SPEAKER_01]: gravitation towards glasses. All right, that was our reporter Megan Boborowski.

[00:10:59] [SPEAKER_01]: And that's it for Tech News Briefing. Today's show is produced by Julie Chang and Trina Menino

[00:11:05] [SPEAKER_01]: with supervising producer Catherine Millsop. I'm Zoe Thomas for The Wall Street Journal.

[00:11:09] [SPEAKER_01]: We'll be back this afternoon with TNB Tech Minute. Thanks for listening.

[00:11:18] [SPEAKER_02]: With Ecolab Science Certified, we take cleaning off your plate so you can focus on what's most

[00:11:22] [SPEAKER_02]: important to your restaurant, your guests, and having them switch from giving your restaurant

[00:11:26] [SPEAKER_02]: a go to making it a go-to spot. Ecolab Science Certified, count on the scientific clean.

[00:11:31] [SPEAKER_02]: Learn more at sciencecertified.com.