Photos: James Duncan Davidson

Google cofounder Sergey Brin returns to the TED stage this morning to show off Google Glass, a hands-free, voice-activated augmented-reality headset from Google. To take a picture while you’re wearing Glass, say “take picture.” Done.

“When we started Google 15 years ago,” Brin says, “my vision was that information would come to you as you need it. You wouldn’t have to search query at all.” But for now, we get information by disconnecting from other people, looking down into our smartphone. Brin asks: “Is this the way you’re meant to interact with other people?” Is the future of connection just people walking around hunched up, looking down, rubbing a featureless piece of glass? In an intimate moment, he says, “It’s kind of emasculating. Is this what you’re meant to do with your body?”

Working on this project, Brin says, was revealing: “I have a nervous tic. The cell phone is a nervous habit — If I smoked, I’d probably smoke instead, It’d look cooler. But I whip this out and look as if I have something important to do. It really opened my eyes to how much of my life I spent secluding myself away in email.”

It’s Google’s hope that the future will bring new, more natural ways of interacting with one another digitally. Check out how Glass works »

And read this thoughtful essay the TED staff is passing around: “The Google Glass Feature No One Is Talking About” >>

Onstage, Chris asks him: How much and when? Brin replies: “A few early, bleeding-edge adopters are applying to get them — you can tweet to #ifihadglass. You can use Yahoo or Bing to look it up.” Wednesday, February 27, was the last day, he notes, and the cost is $1,500.

Sergey Brin’s talk is now available for viewing. Watch it here»