Can I Touch You There? The future of wearable tech
So often in today's pontifications on the future we are provided a dystopian nightmare-scape of implanted micro-chips, roving gangs of murderous children, Mark Zuckerberg. It's terrifying stuff. Increasingly we live in a world of data. Our entire lives are compiled, sorted and sold in an endless stream of clicks, likes and scrolls. We have come to accept our lack of anonymity and privacy for the sake of more connectivity and better tuned content. Yet it seems, for the time being at least, we have levels of intrusion that we are not willing to accept. One needs only to look at the dismal failure that was Google Glass to see that. People hated the idea of other people being able to surreptitiously record interactions on a person to person basis. We may have accepted Big Brother, but it's smaller counterpart is perhaps a step too far. But are we just postponing the inevitable? I think so. And I believe that it will come in the form of augmented reality. Recently, virtual reality has been having a moment. Devices like Playstation VR, Occulus Rift, and Samsung VR enable users to enter into near photo realistic environments and have powerful interactions in a variety of forms. Yet there are limitations. We are social creatures- we enjoy real interaction, whether it be with our environment or with other people. VR locks us into an artificial cocoon, one that forces us to stay seated (for safety) and explore by ourselves. It's a lot of fun, but it's lonely out there. Augmented reality has the ability to change all that. A couple years ago, Pokemon Go! revolutionized hand held gaming by offering an augmented reality treasure hunt for whatever the hell Pokemon are. For the first time, solar-challenged teens were taking to the streets and interacting with their actual environment through an augmented reality platform via their phones. They saw the real terrain with their eyes and through their phones screens, and the technology augmented pokemons on the screen to collect. It supposedly was a lot of fun. I guess. But again, it's friggin pokemon.
But inevitably we are probably less than a decade away from discrete, perhaps even implantable devices that users can toggle to interact with their actual environment in incredible new ways. Imagine playing actual football with avatars from your favorite Nfl Teams? Watching a live performance of your favorite musician in the comfort of your own living room? It'll happen because it's going to be profitable. Just ask Steven Spielberg:
This inevitable technology will of course carry a new pandoras box of ethical and privacy implications- but we have proven that if the tech is useful enough, we will put up with almost anything if it makes our lives more connected, more social, more convenient and perhaps more fun.
I googled 'Google Glass' after reading this post, and was struck by a particular account of their usage. On the Wikipedia page under 'Medical Uses', a Venezuelan doctor was the first to make use of the device during a live surgical procedure, to consult with a doctor some distance away. He found the device to be un-intrusive and quite easy to forget about. This reminds me of countless action movies where the characters speak a command and/or request into open air, and some machine/computer responds with exactly what they need. The presence of a handless computer device which can seamlessly weave itself into the fabric of our day to day lives brings the magic of science fiction into the monotonous labour of real life. Devices like Google Glass can be instrumental in traversing that ever decreasing distance between fantasy and reality. And this may not necessarily be a good thing. Or a bad thing.
ReplyDeleteVirtual and augmented reality, in addition to technology that adheres itself to our natural bodies is leading humanity into a heightened state. We can do so much more than we were ever capable of, and are coming into a world where machinery is instrumental to our survival. But I am inclined to agree with your observation with regards to our need for personal 'real' interaction. I am reminded of the pilot episode of Handmaid's Tale (I really like this show), in which Aunt Lydia consoles the girls with a statement along these lines; "Normal is only what you are used to. This may seem strange for now, but in time you will come to accept it." Perhaps technology is evolving into a new 'real'. Maybe a few years from now, our need for interaction will be met by artificial intelligence that can mimic our nuanced humanity. It is a scary thought, but perhaps or growing rapport with machinery can replace our need to relate to a real person. Perhaps machines can develop past the eerie imperfections of Marjorie Prime, and grow from being the medium of communication, to the object of communication. Just ask Alexa.
Computers rule. People are annoying.
ReplyDeleteGO FUCK YOURSELF YOU FUCKING GUY JERRY
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