Disagree

1. Facebook Is Considering Facial Recognition For Its Upcoming Smart Glasses

I do not believe that facial recognition will be publicly accessible in smart glasses due to the ethical implications of privacy that may be infringed upon causing safety issues, but rather, if this technology was produced, it would only be provided and disclosed to military/police personnel. I think that this technology is something that is easy to produce if privacy wasn’t a concern which is what makes it very interesting. As a society, privacy is valued to a high extent which may cause technology to advance in a slower manner or not advance at all. Because of this, I think that a lot of technological ideas may be revolutionary, but the revolutionary idea may be deterred due to self-interest of humans for freedoms and liberty.

2. 87-Year-Old Man’s Lifelong Dream Of Hiking The Grand Canyon Made Possible Through VR

I don’t agree that VR can solve dreams of traveling, especially those that require movement as the experience is just a close-up video that people don’t even need to move their hands or feet to move which makes it no difference from tourist videos on Youtube. This video features a man sitting in a chair and proclaims that his dream is fulfilled where he hiked the Grand Canyon in VR. This, however, cannot be the case as the basic feeling of hiking must come from your feet moving. When you are sitting down and watching a video, you feel nothing more than a video experience like a 4D ride. This ride, no matter how they put wind/scent, can never resemble real life experience, thus this comment that VR can realize traveling dreams can’t be true unless the person truly believes so, but if they believe so, they can also fulfill their dream through Youtube and TV’s.

3. When the Artificial Is Natural: Reconsidering What Bionics and Sensoria Do

The article argues that deaf people can hear for the first time through bionics which I disagree with as deafness isn’t not being able to hear, but rather it’s hearing in a different manner such as through touch as sound is just vibrations. Rather than making this blatant claim that people can hear with a device, I think that it’s more accurate to say that they can transfer the soundwaves to sound. While it is possible for deaf people to hear through vibrations, this allows them to hear through their ear where information can be transmitted to the brain. For this article, I’m not arguing that Bionics do not help hear, rather I argue that people don’t hear for the first time because of Bionics. 

Agree

1. How Snap aims to turn augmented reality into a monetization machine

I agree that augmented reality already is and will be a huge source of monetization due to it being the next spectrum of possibility that can be explored as current technology in computers has already reached a point where improvements can only be made to the processing features. I think that Snap makes a good point that Snapchat and other companies are already utilizing augmented reality as a means for monetization. Having such platforms popularize and normalize augmented reality would only make it more acceptable in the future which would allow for monetization in the future as well. 

2. The First Desktop 3D Hologram Printer – by LitiHolo

I think that this is a genius invention that will push forth the steps needed to fully develop such technology in the future. Having a printer that can create such a visual effect that’s easy to use is so powerful for creating new technology in the future such as architectural plans that can be viewed at different angles. I believe that in 5 years, this advancement would be seen as something that redefined the possibility of holograms much like Apple’s iPhone. Moreover, in 5 years, this technology may be advanced to the VR schemes that are seen in videos.

3. Billionaires See VR as a Way to Avoid Radical Social Change

I agree that VR can’t cause any social change, but rather will emphasize discourses in society as there is nothing that VR does that will stop human behavior in a certain manner such as presentation of avatars as flawless, without gender, skinny, and same height. Even if the interaction is human to human, there is a disconnection with the actions of humans in real life and in virtual reality. In virtual reality, people may take on personalities to try to stand out, but their treatment of others in real life may still be the same. If Facebook emphasizes using avatars in virtual reality where it can be designed to anybody’s will, what changes can be made regarding appearances? It seems more like the issues that arise from appearance are being ignored such as race, gender, and defects. I recall that in the avatars that were shown in Facebook’s videos, none of the characters have defects and only have upper bodies. They do not have legs and are the same height. If everybody appears the same or without flaw, how can change be implemented. This is the reason that I think that VR can’t change anything.

The social immersive environment/experience I will focus on is clubbing. Clubbing is essentially a term to denote the act of going to a club and experiencing the atmosphere through participation in activities such as dancing, drinking, singing, and etc. When one partakes in this activity with others, I would describe the interaction between them as experiencing the same world or in a sense, merging their world and perspectives. This, thus makes the experience immersive as their awareness of physical self deteriorates as they become one with other therefore the longer one partakes in this activity, the more immersed they are with the environment and the people of the environment which causes me to also make the argument that clubbing is an activity which causes all people to combine into a single entity that follows a singular way of life. From another perspective, clubbing is also highly dependent on the number of people as well as the density of the space. The more compact a space is, the more immersive it may become for the participants as they, in a sense, must become a single entity to experience this environment. When there are less people, the immersion may be lackluster due to the state of being. 

Changes to physical presence, surrounding atmosphere, and adaptation to a “new” environment are probably the most thought of experiences of immersion that are non-VR. While rides with NPCs, roleplaying, and experiencing new digital atmospheres may be the standard of non-VR/AR experiences, I think that a key immersive experience taken on by individuals in society would be hallucinogens/psychedelics which alter our perspective of reality. While I haven’t taken any hallucinogens, I’ve read and watched many documentaries and shows that show first-person perspectives of how this works. The key hallucinogen that I will focus on which has a rich history in productivity in many industries is LSD, standing for Lysergic Acid Diethylamide.

This drug is known for causing people to view the world in different ways where there may be additional colors, imagery, actions, and etc. When people intake this drug, they essentially go on what is known as a “trip” which is their experience of hallucinations, altered feelings, and awareness in a drugged state. These can be “good” or “bad” trips but some memories of past hallucinations may stick with people for years which would alter their physical perception and awareness, often being consumed by the memory. Some famous bands such as the Beatles have taken LSD for music production where songs such as “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” alludes to LSD usage. 

Referring back to the definition of immersion being : the state of consciousness where an immersant’s awareness of physical self is diminished or lost by being surrounded in an engrossing total environment, it can be understood that when this drug is consumed and the effects take into place, the immersant loses their awareness of reality and experiences an alternate reality that is surreal and created by the mind. Their previous physical environment is thus engrossed by a new surreal total environment that may continually alter itself based on the hallucinations of the individual. In the most purest sense, this could be VR/AR without the headset or controls as reality has been altered to be surreal. 

This week for experiencing VR/AR, I focused on observing the person participating in VR where I went with my classmate Sissi. Having experienced VR before, I wondered about how the interaction with VR looked in reality and if it was natural or did it seem forced. I also observed how first timers would interact with VR to see if the controls made sense for the headset where it was interesting to see that she was confused at first on how to use it. For example, for the VIVE headset it appeared that the controls for jumping in VR aren’t clear where she jumped in real life to see if it would be mimicked in VR but she had no luck. In addition, the speed that VR travel can move in in Blueshift? was surreal as it was extremely fast speeds but air couldn’t be felt. I think this caused a sort of psychological confusion as she’s standing still but she’s moving in first person perspective. Moreover, she also tried VR Poker which wasn’t very successful for her as she couldn’t play the game but could only click buttons to move from one place to another. From this I think that the movement control of VR is currently at an extremely weak spot as it seems more like a click and see world rather than a world that you can explore through walking, thus if a more realistic experience is to be created, the movement module should be improved vastly. 

Today, I went to experience the VR/AR devices in the lab where I encountered new feelings of immersion as well as some areas that could be improved with the VR interface. I started off with the VIVE VR headset which was truly immersive and rather comfortable. The graphics for that one was smooth due to having a computer as the processor. This headset was rather light and fit on the head without much worry. In addition, when I played a game, I found myself trying to balance myself even though I knew that it was fake which was very interesting and made me think that VR uses our natural human instincts to create sensory tricking results. What was bad about the experience with the VIVE is that it was buggy where I couldn’t play certain games despite selecting it.  This was followed with the Oculus Quest2 that was seen in the Facebook Connect event. After experiencing the VIVE, I had high hopes for the Oculus Quest2 due to the features that Facebook specified in the video. This was met with an unfortunate problem with wearing glasses and having rather bad eyesight. The Oculus Quest 2 couldn’t fit my glasses within the headset in a comfortable manner where my glasses were squeezed within the headset and it was basically a functionless device for me despite adjusting the headset size and all that. Lastly, my review of the Oculus Quest is that it was good and immersive, but the circle was truly terrible in the sense that I couldn’t move. I played beat saber which was fun and easy to play, but I didn’t really feel immersed in that reality as I felt with VIVE. Moreover, I also played VR Poker but due to the limits of movement, it wasn’t a very good experience and I felt like it would’ve been better to play this on a computer or in real life. Lastly, I felt that the Oculus Quest was super heavy. Having to wear glasses, I’m already used to some weight, but the additional weight from this headset is a bit to much where I felt pressure on my nose after wearing the headset. This sensation was also met by having to adjust my orientation of my face/ specifically eyes to see the smooth graphics rather than blurry ones. 

All in all, I felt that VR does have potential to trick the human mind as I was trying to find my balance and even in poker I wanted to lean on the table due to habit, but it also has flaws with how comfortable the immersion experience is. 

Having watched the 2020 Facebook Connect Keynote, I felt particularly optimistic regarding the direction that developers are wanting to head towards for the future with VR/AR and I thought their approach to VR/AR was very idealistic overall. It caused me to think about Plato and Aristotle’s beliefs regarding reality and the ideal reality as the augmented reality presented by Facebook was very much a presentation about what the ideal reality should look like and how it should be experienced. Moreover, I felt that even in VR, there is attempted creation of the ideal world with the Horizon being a place for interaction with various landscapes. This was particularly interesting to me as all their approaches are meant to change our experience of reality to become the ideal experience of reality. For example, when the glasses (Project Aria) was mentioned, I found that it was highly experimental to understand how reality is experienced. The developers offer a lot of ideas for how this can be a product to offer the ideal experience of reality such as the enhanced hearing experience which focuses our hearing. This, of course, sounds beneficial to users as it simulates a real life experience, however, marketing doesn’t reflect the negative side of such a product being that all users must use this product for this to be viable. Moreover, the perspective of the videocaller is fully ignored as it is without doubt that he will be disturbed by the ambience noice. Furthermore, this sort of device may be used for activities such as spying. Lastly, the developer mentions how the ideal glasses would work in the ideal situation, but neglects a simple truth of the product. He neglects that it would essentially be a surveillance device as it can be used in the supermarket to find a certain product. Devices can only find this when it has access to the data that users see. If data isn’t provided, such a device cannot be used. Essentially, one must give up their privacy and data to experience the most ideal reality. 

While the prospect of AR-integration with the world seems distant or a like a dream, augmented reality is something I believe will exist in the future due to my belief in the inherent nature of humans to reach higher means of advancement to establish personal purpose. Of course, even though this world will exist, I don’t believe that it will exist like Kelly’s written world as some features of his ideal world conflicts with the political beliefs of many countries, specifically being the concept of total surveillance. Having studied the concept of surveillance before, it is without a doubt that all countries conduct surveillance upon their citizens. Citizens may not agree with it, but on a macroscale, for this technology to occur as Kelly mentions being that it can scan the whole world, there must be technology sharing. AR, being a source of monopolies, would not be able to accommodate the domestic interests of all nations as not all nations cooperate on the same scale. Moreover, international alliances of surveillance such as the five eyes alliance does not share information to citizens. Information is always kept within the governments reach, therefore, concepts of viewing imagery of the past may not be viable options that AR could offer. Despite international relations affecting AR’s usage, I’m a firm believer that the future will look augmented at some point. Having studied art history, I think this case represents very much Jean-Marc Cote’s postcards which predicted the possible future without having been shared. 

As the world currently stands, VR-First reality is still far far away from being implemented. While such immersive experiences can be provided to us, a world run through and by VR is only a distant reality. Prospects of such a reality can only be written about and visually portrayed, of which Ready Player One is the subject at hand. Allen Graylin, a leader in the VR/AR field, wrote a blog commenting on the lessons that can be learned from this book made into a movie with lessons such as world priorities in the future, economic systems, and etc. 

While many of these thoughts seem idealized, I can’t but help agree with some of the points made where I agree with lesson 16 which is that humans still have a need for greater purpose. In any age of human society, advancement is essential in the development of human history. Even in an age of prosperity, humans do not neglect the necessity of advancement in technology, culture, and etc. It’s more to say that when the VR-First reality is reached where one’s ideal reality becomes mental physical reality that the humans will continue to advance due to the innate human trait of desire and discontentment. Moreover, I feel that when this reality can be accomplished, humans would find ways to continue to alter reality such as slowing down time in VR to prolong human time. 

While I agree with many points, I have a firm disagreement with lesson 7 “VR can erase race and gender inequality gaps” as technology cannot erase preexisting human produced schemas. In our world today, race and gender are existing factors that persists in human treatment. While VR can simply modify the appearance of oneself, it cannot undermine the regulations that humans will impose upon technology. For example, modern social media apps already have basic regulations being that one’s identity has to be verified. When VR is incorporated, it is without a doubt that it will become a centralized system where one’s identity has to be verified. In China, identity verification is already taking place to protect children from game addiction. Even in cryptocurrency where the system is supposed to be inherently decentralized, governments are taking a centralized approach to it where identity verification protocols are emplaced. While the appearance of oneself can be modified, one’s identity cannot be fabricated for jobs. Companies will still require legal information and identification methods for payment and for providing worker rights. If legal information is held back in the future, there will be no legal protections to its workers.