Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta Connect keynote was meant to dazzle the tech world with the future of AI-powered wearables, but instead exposed the all-too-real limitations lurking behind Silicon Valley’s glossy self-promotion. During the launch of Meta’s $799 Ray-Ban Display glasses, Zuckerberg attempted multiple live demonstrations—both of which crumbled awkwardly under the audience’s gaze. Even with years of hype and billions poured into development, the technology failed spectacularly to deliver on its basic promises.
The public embarrassment reached a crescendo when cooking influencer Jack Mancuso, equipped with Meta’s much-touted AI glasses, tried to receive step-by-step assistance for a recipe. Instead of guiding him through, the glasses’ AI looped through ingredients, skipped forward, and ignored repeated requests for help. The so-called “intelligent” assistant left both the chef and the audience more confused than impressed—adding insult to injury, technical glitches spread across the venue, revealing not a product failure but a demonstration of attack as every AI glass present in the crowded room tried to respond at once.
Zuck’s failed again.
It might’ve been the most important moment in AI this year.
Let me cook 🍳
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Mark walks on stage.AI assistant freezes. Twice.
Glitches. Stalls. Everyone watching.
Dead air. Chaos. Embarrassing.
X goes feral:
“META 2nd demo also flopped 💀”
“Train… pic.twitter.com/oacJ17XVzr— Houman Asefi (@houmanasefi) September 18, 2025
Zuckerberg’s stumbles showcased not only the shortcomings of Meta’s gadgets but also the misplaced priorities of the industry’s tech elite. Rather than building products that serve practical needs and respect user freedom, companies like Meta focus on controlling narratives and amassing data—often at the expense of reliability and honest user experience. No wonder their flagship event turned into an illustration of overreach and blundering ambition.
While Big Tech loves to boast about “revolutionary” advances, moments like this pierce the illusion. The Ray-Ban Display’s botched performance wasn’t just a momentary lapse; it was a powerful reminder that tech giants are neither infallible nor especially skilled at addressing the everyday concerns of millions of Americans. Perhaps if these firms invested less in censorship and manipulation and more in actually perfecting their products, we’d see something worthy of all the hoopla.
As Meta’s leadership blamed demo failures on technical difficulties and network issues, the rest of the country couldn’t help but smirk at the irony. Silicon Valley’s claim to lead us into an AI-powered utopia sounds less convincing with each embarrassing misstep. Beneath the dazzling PR and manufactured consensus are layers of snake oil, technical jargon, and gadgets that struggle to perform even the simplest tasks when the spotlight is brightest.