At its annual Meta Connect conference, a showcase designed to dazzle the world with its vision for the future, Meta and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg were instead left red-faced by a series of embarrassing technical glitches during a live demonstration of their next-generation AI glasses. A highly anticipated demo of the new Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses and a neural wristband failed to work as planned, leaving Zuckerberg awkwardly repeating hand gestures on stage. The mishap, which was followed by another cringeworthy AI failure during a cooking segment, turned a "special moment" for the company into a viral spectacle of the perils of live tech demos.
The most significant and talked-about moment of the event came as Zuckerberg attempted to showcase the seamless integration between the new Ray-Ban Display glasses, which feature a built-in heads-up display, and a neural wristband that allows users to control devices with subtle hand gestures. The demonstration was meant to culminate in Zuckerberg initiating a video call with Meta's CTO, Andrew Bosworth, using only a series of hand motions. However, the system failed to respond. After several repeated and unsuccessful attempts, a visibly uncomfortable Zuckerberg was forced to abandon the effort, quipping, "We’ll debug that later."
Bosworth then walked on stage in person to help manage the awkward situation, blaming the failure on a "brutal" WiFi connection. "I promise you, no one is more upset about this than I am," he added, acknowledging the setback. The excuse, however, was met with widespread skepticism online, with social media users quickly turning the moment into a viral meme. "Not really believable to be a WiFi issue," one user commented, reflecting a broader sentiment that the technology simply wasn't ready for its primetime debut.
The technical difficulties did not end there. In another segment designed to highlight the practical applications of Meta's AI assistant, the company brought in a food content creator, Jack Mancuso, to perform a live cooking demonstration using the upgraded Ray-Ban Meta glasses. The demo quickly went off the rails when Mancuso asked the AI for instructions on how to make a "Korean-inspired steak sauce." Instead of providing clear, step-by-step guidance, the AI assistant became confused, skipping ahead in the recipe and repeatedly insisting that he had "already combined the base ingredients," even as Mancuso pleaded, "What should I do first?" The assistant's inability to follow a simple, linear process created another awkward and cringeworthy moment, further undermining the event's narrative of an effortless, AI-powered future.
Despite Zuckerberg's attempt to frame the unveiling as one of the "special moments" for Meta, the on-stage failures have largely overshadowed the product announcements. The viral clips of the glitches have fueled a wave of public criticism and mockery, turning what should have been a triumphant demonstration of technological prowess into a cautionary tale about the gap between a company's ambitious vision and the messy reality of its execution.
· Live Demo Failure: A key live demonstration of Meta's new AI-powered Ray-Ban Display glasses and a neural wristband failed on stage, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg unable to initiate a video call using hand gestures.
· 'Brutal WiFi' Blamed: Meta's CTO, Andrew Bosworth, blamed a "brutal WiFi" connection for the glitch, an excuse that was met with widespread skepticism online.
· Second Awkward Glitch: In a separate demo, Meta's AI cooking assistant also malfunctioned, providing confusing, out-of-sequence instructions to a food content creator.
· Viral Backlash: The on-stage failures quickly went viral, leading to public criticism and mockery that overshadowed the actual product announcements.
