Against Blind Techno-Optimism - Digital Explorers' Diary #42

Welcome to the Digital Explorers' Diary #42!

A curated collection of thought-provoking topics about interactive technologies, AI, web3, sense-making, entrepreneurship, and psychology.

Executive summary:

• An opinion piece on why I disagree with trusting only technology to solve everything magically,
• The new Levono XR headset,
• Invisible, a new AI-powered motion capture tool,
• And insights and updates on the Apple Vision Pro!

Contra bullish techno-optimism

What a mouthful! I'm trying my luck on buzzwords. How did I do?

In plain English: why I disagree with trusting only technology to improve the world and magically solve everything.

Getting more and more publicity recently for their super optimism on AI benefits, the movement that foresees a bright future for humanity based solely on technological progress is missing a big part of the game: Humans.

Yes, technology might bring many solutions and improvements. Renewable or new forms of efficient and cheap energy; genetic engineering (CRISPR) or brain implants (NeuraLink) to prevent and cure sickness; cultured meat and plant-based meals for food; a Metaverse for collaboration, social and entertainment; decentralized banking and political systems; and cherry on the cake, Artificial Intelligence to accelerate all of this.

That's all great and is very likely to happen.
And even if General Artificial Intelligence can optimize our lives and our world to the best outcome possible, something else needs to evolve: us.

For all of the innovations above, it's easy to find malevolent usage. Restricting energy and food access to only the ones who can pay for it; brain implants using your brains while you sleep (I'm not even kidding); playing with genetics so much that it leads to unethical eugenics or super powerful bioweapons; and unaligned AGI causing havoc.

And who's in control of all of that? We are.
In a world where war is still happening, where we are incapable of making collective intelligent decisions on most global issues, why should we assume we'll manage these disruptions successfully?

Oh, and on AI, who decides what "align" means? For example, I'm sure US, Chinese, and Russian governments have very different definitions of what an "aligned" Artificial Intelligence looks like.

One could argue that AI will also solve our collective intelligence issue; it might be true, but how will it incentivize us to follow its recommendations? Will it force us to, through our brain implants, turning our world into a perfect dystopia?

There are no solutions within the current system. Incentives for-profit and unhealthy competition are too high. We still place our personal preferences before everything else.

How can this change? How can we change? I’m sure we can, and the young generation will lead the way. I see many startups and thought movements flourishing recently, driven by the same idea that another game is possible.

Sounds familiar? Does that resonate with you? Let’s connect!

This Week's News:

Same as last week, Apple dominated the news. Here are some interesting things to note, though:

1. Disguise and Move.ai collaborated to release Invisible, a solution for real-time motion capture powered by Artificial Intelligence.
   Previously available only when real-time was not required, this solution can decrease a lot the cost of doing motion capture, as it uses only feeds from phones. We can’t wait to use it in our client experiences!
2. Shadowed by the Apple announcement but still newsworthy: Lenovo released ThinkReality VRX, their new VR/MR headset.
   Aimed at enterprise/industrial use, it packs nice hardware but, most importantly, a suite of software designed for meetings and collaboration as well as device management. It’s a smart move, as most customer-oriented devices lack enterprise-level device management. Will the quality follow? We’re looking forward to the reviews and to trying it! (By the way, nicely filmed video)
3. One notable news from Apple last week: WebXR will be available on the Vision Pro.
   What does that mean? Up until now, to distribute an XR experience, you’d have to go through submitting an application on the store.
   With WebXR, the experience is available from the Web, therefore opening up a whole new range of possibilities for experience creation and also removing friction as there is no application to install.
   It’s still a debug toggle, though, so it might take time until it’s actually available by default.

From the Podcast

Every week, I’m teaming up with Guillaume Brincin and Sébastien Spas on the Lost In Immersion podcast.

1. An entire episode about the Apple Vision Pro, where we discuss its features and positioning. We’re eager to test it, of course; here are some insights:
   What will the collaboration with Disney actually lead to? Most of the keynote elements seemed fake…
   Related, there was a very brief mention of a partnership with PTC, which focus on industry. Was it just a hint at how the Vision Pro could also be used at an enterprise level?
   What will be the validation process that will be required for app publishing on visionOS? Since the beginning, Apple has been very strict with what is allowed on their platforms. Both on features and monetization. What will be the limitations Apple will impose on app creators? Will they carefully control each experience, or will they be more tolerant than on iOS? Up until WebXR is enabled by default (see above in the news section), we bet on the former…
   As they used high-quality materials, will the weight of the device be a bad point? Or are they thinking that having a separate battery can ease its replacement with a new, more powerful one in the years to come?

Tune in at 10 am UTC on Wednesdays on Twitch, and listen to the replays on Youtube!