Computah turns Meta Ray-Bans into instant social power

Computah and – In Chicago and New York, Julius Mondragon’s “Computah” videos use Meta Ray-Ban glasses to deliver playful, AI-sounding commands—and the reactions have reshaped his career. At a Knicks rally in Washington Square Park, strangers cheered, formed a crowd, and turn

On a chilly winter day, Julius Mondragon stepped into a half-empty car on the Metra train line in Chicago.

“Computah, activate hyperspeed typing,” he commanded a random woman typing away on her laptop. “Computah, make these two guys friends forever,” he said to two men sitting together, as they looked up, smiling. “Computah, make sure this man feels confident and sexy at all times of the day,” he instructed. “Computah, make sure this woman has a wonderful day.”.

Before opening the door between cars, heading off in his Meta Ray-Ban glasses to find the next group of unsuspecting commuters, he announces: “You’ve been programmed!”

Mondragon—26 years old—has become a TikTok phenomenon by “programming” people all over Chicago and beyond. He summons his weirdly accented “Computah” character in videos recorded through Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses, then captures the moment someone realizes what’s happening.

I spent time with him in real life in New York this week. meeting him in a Harlem café near the hotel where he was staying. Unlike the bizarre persona in his videos, Mondragon was genial and soft-spoken. The voice he uses online is a fake accent built from an imitation of a character in “The Sopranos. ” dreamed up by him and his roommates.

The glasses, and the leap into viral creativity, came quickly. Mondragon got a pair of Meta Ray-Bans this past Christmas. He started posting videos recorded by the glasses to TikTok in January. His “Computah” idea initially came from an Eric André sketch: André. wearing a black leotard with electronic parts glued to it. pretends to be Google as he approaches strangers on the street.

“When I got the Metas, I was coming up with ideas,” Mondragon told me. “What if I’m Meta and I’m pretending I’m just an AI and I can transform anything in my surroundings?”

For Mondragon, the joke isn’t just about tricking strangers. It’s about control—turning the idea of being “processed” by technology into something visible and, in his telling, harmless. Yet the impact is unmistakable: the reaction he gets on the street has turned into a business he can now afford to chase.

Mondragon grew up in the Chicago suburbs and currently lives on the South Side of Chicago. For the last few years. he has worked as a music producer. something he still pursues. while holding a day job in retail. He recently quit his day job at Foot Locker thanks to the money he has earned through social media.

His income streams stretch beyond TikTok itself. He told me that Cameo—where he charges $40 to send a personalized message to fans—has been particularly helpful in getting him to a financial position where he can pursue “Computah” full-time.

Along the way, he has become something of a Chicago star. He was profiled in the Chicago Tribune and appeared on local TV news. In his videos. it’s clear people are recognizing him. leading to funny interactions where they mimic his catchphrases and tactics—like saying “Firewall up!” to block his “programming.”.

The Meta Ray-Bans are, for Mondragon, a reverse Clark Kent. People only seem to notice him once he puts on the glasses.

Still, the technology isn’t without controversy. Since Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses launched in 2021, there has been concern about people using them as “creep glasses” to record people surreptitiously.

Meta says sales have been strong. In 2025, Meta said it sold more than 7 million pairs—triple the amount it sold in 2024. Mondragon’s videos fit into the wider reality of how smart glasses are landing in public: he isn’t the sort of creator making his rounds to invade privacy. but social media already contains plenty of footage that falls into less flattering buckets—trolls harassing service workers. and men recording themselves trying to pick up women on the street.

“My feed is mostly Meta [videos]. It’s just mainly pickup artists and people trying to ragebait people,” Mondragon said. “I knew when I started, I didn’t want to do that. Obviously, I’m looking to get a reaction, but I’m not looking to mess up this person’s day. I didn’t want it to be like, this person leaves this interaction feeling shitty about themselves or anything.”.

When asked about “Computah’s” popularity, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone told Business Insider: “Local hero wears Ray-Ban Metas is a great story!”

What makes the act work—at least to the viewer—is the disarming absurdity. Mondragon puts on the glasses and talks like an unseen computer is issuing commands. It’s funny, but it lands because it feels like something bigger. The idea is there: that we’re being “programmed” by an unfeeling algorithm. that the trajectory of our days and even our bodies could be nudged by something we don’t see.

Mordragon told me he sees a deeper meaning beyond the jokes. “It’s like a pattern interruption,” he said. “That’s really what I’m trying to go for.”

One catch phrase has become its own little internet engine. A particular “Computah” command—“Computah, make these guys super gay and horny!”—has spread online as a meme. Mondragon told me he means it in the spirit of fun, not as something antigay. Another TikToker made a catchy song using the lyric over and over.

Mondragon said he wasn’t really sure why that phrase caught on so much or why girls seem to have latched onto it. He didn’t frame it as analysis; he shrugged at the momentum. Still. he acknowledged that the timing seems to match the moment: a year-by-year shift in how gender and sexuality play out in pop culture.

On the day we met this week, the comedian and YouTuber Druski announced a rally for the New York Knicks in Washington Square Park.

Mondragon and I took the subway downtown together from Harlem. Just before our final stop on the train. he donned his Meta Ray-Bans and started programming the people in the car. Typical New Yorkers. as it turned out. didn’t react much to the man speaking loudly and saying strange things on the subway.

But everything changed when we reached the rally.

A few hundred young men had gathered to chant various permutations of “Knicks in four.” Mondragon and I hung on the outskirts of the crowd. Then, suddenly, someone recognized him: “Hey, it’s Computah!” The fan excitedly shook his hand.

A young couple visiting from Florida—Amanda Rivera and her boyfriend. Diego Casanova—approached “Computah” and asked him to program them. Casanova told me he was inspired by Mondragon to buy his own pair of Meta glasses. Casanova wore the frames with clear lenses while I chatted to him; I didn’t even realize he was wearing them until he mentioned it. His recording light was on, but he didn’t seem to realize he’d been recording our interaction.

Mondragon started programming the Florida visitors, and heads turned. Cheers erupted again as more people recognized him, and a crowd formed. The gathering—drawn instantly through social media recognition—ended up feeling like a perfect match for the kind of people who spend time online: chronically online. all of them having seen Mondragon’s antics on TikTok and Reels.

While Mondragon can slip by on city streets unnoticed, in that park crowd he wasn’t invisible at all. He was the show.

TikTok Computah Julius Mondragon Meta Ray-Ban glasses Foot Locker Cameo Andy Stone smart glasses Washington Square Park Knicks rally Metra