Decoder with Nilay Patel · Thursday, September 24, 2026
Nilay Patel argued that for any consumer technology, including Meta's glasses, users ultimately define the product through their emergent behaviors. He cited Twitter's adoption of user-invented features like hashtags as an example, suggesting that Meta has limited control over how its devices are used, regardless of communication about features like recording lights.
“The users define the product.”
“If you sell millions of gadgets to people, they will use them in ways that you never expected.”
“The ways people are using them have nothing to do with Meta's intentions or its communication about recording lights, or now.”