Part II of Apple’s AR/VR Goggle Leaks
The Lens Lifestyle
Read Part I: Apple’s XR Goggle Leaks
While I visited my homeland of snowcapped Utah mountains, I noticed two things:
1. My parents are addicted to coffee.
2. My parents use their phones more than me.
No moral judgement to be made on coffee or Google searches; simply observations.
To enjoy the mornings with my mom, we’d invite each other to the breakfast table for “coffee.” The automated siren of the coffee maker would alert us excitedly to sip on brews blacker than truck-stop diner coffee, and over the course of a week, I realized my Pavlovian response being developed.
Back in San Francisco, my typical 1-Tazze Moka Pot dose was not cutting it. I wanted the cracked-out amphetamine high where my pupils dilated to a dinner-plate size on which I could feast a new hyper-vibrant reality.
In the TikTok loop of the modern age, the iPhone is a siphon that delivers ultra-caffeinated syrup to our thirsty minds.
Apple’s technological designs have fundamentally changed human behavior and thought on the basis of amplified baselines for how we interact with the world. The iPhone has forever altered accessibility to communication, information, and entertainment on a worldly level. In the advent of Apple’s reported (but not yet formally announced) XR glasses, we lie at the cusp of a new, more immersive technological revolution.
Like coffee or any other benign stimulant, a shift in perception can help us progress in our creative and productive minds. I wouldn’t go as far as to say coffee has made me a better person, but transitioning from my “tea only” lifestyle has certainly opened a window of opportunity for socializing over coffee or simply enjoying the unadulterated pleasure of its nutty bitterness . . . likewise, interacting with social media, video messaging, and pop culture at our fingertips makes us more relatable and broadens our horizons for communication and perception.
Boredom is level of suffering we all experience.
The obvious antidote of the technological age has been entertainment that can easily be concentrated in the slivers of moments between activities. There has been a steady insertion of augmentations suited for daily routines and banalities through our screens, and this seamless interaction will only be improved upon with eye-tracking computations in Apple’s UI.
Perceptual shifts currently involve a series of mechanical steps (finger push, finger swipe, finger dah dah dah . . .) that will be relieved with retinal sensing. Smartphone users have augmentation capabilities at their fingertips, such that sights, sounds, or general environmental inputs are transmuted by a virtual layer.
While these shifts are not problematic in theory, a steady stream of augmentation may been the difference between sipping on water when perceive your own thirst verses being hooked to an IV.
The efficiency-oriented side of myself is like “Weeee! Hook me up!”
However, when I consider the possibility of a dependency where I can’t run off, bounding through life at my spontaneous will while plugged in, the progression of my experiences seem quite limited.
Observation #1:
My coffee addiction is an issue of UI rather than an issue with my mom.
I will stave off blaming my mom for “making” me drink more coffee, or addressing the high-potency jet fuel my parents consume (love you guys).
The true incitement of me going from a “reasonable” coffee consumer to an all-out rabid fiend was a design-related phenomena (and some might add, a lack of adequate discernment or will).
When my habitual coffee-delivery device is a small trinket with many manual steps involved, I am forced to think twice when 11am comes and I think ‘more coffee (?).’ Alternatively, when presented with a cauldron of piping hot speed that glistens before me with impressive volume and shiny glass, my feeble waking soul is drawn into the light and another cup is poured with little impediment to my momentum.
Systems that decrease friction between the user and the user interface increase usage by decreasing the steps needed to complete a task (duh). While obvious on a conceptual level, it’s difficult to perceive the internal change that occurs when rates of usage go up little by little due to their seamless interaction with your life.
Considering that much of our current sensory surroundings are virtual in nature, it’s not far-reaching to imagine a future where we can project an entirely customizable experience. Imagine a Google search index at eye-level prompted by stimuli in your surroundings.
Observation #2
The second observation on that small list above is not to be unnecessarily descriptive of my parents habits. They are mountain fairing folk who haul snow off our 8,000 ft slope from the house they built. True artisans with an unfathomable degree of craftsmen ability, my parents are some of the most self-sufficient people I know. Contrastingly, I am a Gen-Zer whose livelihood depends on the internet, and works/lives (soon to be moving) in the capital of tech: Silicon Valley. In other words, my parents are not the image of who is at the seat of burgeoning human-tech coevolution.
The archetype of an adopter of an AR or VR headset is millennial or Gen-Z type that likes gaming and probably has some tech job.
When we look at the brief but high-amplitude history of AI technology, most individuals did not predict the degree of access to AI tech at the rate at which it was available, nor were the use cases perceived on a societal level (ie. even your Grandma could use ChatGPT to draft a text to you).
Understanding the narratives we hold about ourselves and others while apprehending the sudden and certain insertion of powerful devices into our lives will help us understand that there is no single person who is impermeable to overuse. Bracing ourselves with a concept for practical use cases of AR technology might prevent cascading effects that dull reality outside of the goggles.
I’ll revisit Lanier, who was cited in the last article:
“Technologists provide tools that can improve people’s lives. . . Unless there’s commensurate ethical and moral improvements to go along with it, it’s for naught.”
Considerations about best potential outcomes prior to mass adoption will be necessary to prevent a future where AR/VR elements are more pleasurable than suffering through the inefficiencies and potential boredom inherent in long-term pursuits. XR is like ultra-concentrated coffee that dulls our taste for that which is not hyperreal. It will not be a device matter of individual willpower or “strength” that will set the context for implementation, rather, societal decisions on what this tool is for.
Get more details Apple leak here <=
Read more from this Author:
How I decided to leave Silicon Valley
Creator’s Rights and the Struggle Against Meta Monopolization
