The World’s Gone Mad, but at Least We Have AR Porn

There’s a naked woman dancing in front me on the aging, yet still elegant carpet at the historic Driskill Hotel in Downtown Austin, Texas. I’m desperately uncomfortable as I whip my head around to see if anyone’s noticed.

“Um, well done, but do you have, uh…” I search for the words as Andreas Hronopoulos CEO of Naughty America, sensing my discomfort, offers that he also has a clothed model.

“Yes,” I say, relieved, “switch to that.”

Burning embarrassment aside, I am impressed. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen augmented reality porn, which Hronopoulos insists on calling a hologram, and the effect is arresting.

Put simply, Naughty America, which has made a business of adapting cutting-edge technology and innovation to fit its adult enterprise, is now integrating augmented reality into the mix. Hronopoulos asked for a moment at the recently concluded South by Southwest (SXSW) to show me the bleeding edge of adult content. He planned to spend a few days at the conference, with a porn star in tow, showing off the technology to whomever would listen.

The company has a habit of operating on the fringes of the SXSW Interactive Festival. A few years ago at another SXSW, Naughty America rented out a house just outside downtown where it demonstrated its then nascent…