Cyborg Assaulted at Paris McDonald’s, Who Side Are You In?

Professor Steve Mann is not your typical person that wears glasses. He has a special device (called an EyeTap) attached to him. I have been following the saga of his first report on being assaulted at a Paris McDonald’s and McDonald’s response and followed by Professor Steve Mann counter response. The question will be “Who is the victim?”

BTW, the above image is Professor Steve Mann with the EyeTap and the current Google Glass. Back to the question, “Who is the victim?”

Is Steve Mann victim of an assault by the employees or are the employees the victims of the blurring of integration of technology into our daily lives?

You see, if you look in another perspective, the employees were enforcing the policy of no photography in the restaurant. The only issue is that they did not even know what the device is doing and if the account from Steve Mann is correct, they tore up the doctor’s letter on why Steve Mann needs to wear the EyeTap. This is a NO-NO.

Based on what I read, Steve Mann device actually takes pictures when it is damaged. And yes, it had taken a few pictures of the alleged attackers and their actions.

The question is what is deem as damaged. From the average person, the EyeTap looks like a common glasses with a lens. What the employees did not know is that it is secured to Steve Mann and not able to remove without tools. An excerpt from his blog post.

The eyeglass is permanently attached and does not come off my skull without special tools

What they might be doing is to take a closer look at the device. However, they should ask for it and NOT to remove it without permission. And if they really tore up the doctor’s letter, I think whatever these employees said, it will become useless.

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With technology advancement, more and more devices will be integrated to our body. It will be even more difficult to detect their presence. Will establishments like McDonald’s really able to enforce the no photography policy. BTW, I did not even know that we cannot take pictures in a McDonald’s restaurant.

Steve Mann Account of his experience at Paris McDonald’s

and here is the response from McDonald’s

We share the concern regarding Dr. Mann’s account of his July 1 visit to a McDonald’s in Paris. McDonald’s France was made aware of Dr. Mann’s complaints on July 16, and immediately launched a thorough investigation. The McDonald’s France team has contacted Dr. Mann and is awaiting further information from him.

In addition, several staff members involved have been interviewed individually, and all independently and consistently expressed that their interaction with Dr. Mann was polite and did not involve a physical altercation. Our crew members and restaurant security staff have informed us that they did not damage any of Mr. Mann’s personal possessions.

While we continue to learn more about the situation, we are hearing from customers who have questions about what happened. We urge everyone not to speculate or jump to conclusions before all the facts are known. Our goal is to provide a welcoming environment and stellar service to McDonald’s customers around the world.

Lets see how this saga will end.

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