Issue 134: Are We Ready for Genuine AR?
Welcome to Backstory, a weekly newsletter turning global technology shifts into a three-minute read. This week, we’re talking about augmented reality. – Mary Ames, Director of Strategy
THE BIG TAKE
Are We Ready for Genuine AR?
Apple’s augmented reality (AR) headset will be unveiled next month, but is the world ready for AR? That’s the million-dollar question. If there was one company with the power and track record to catapult AR into the mainstream, it would be Apple. The company took uncool gadgets like the mp3 player (the iPod) and smartwatch (the Apple Watch) and made them cool. It’s about to try augmented reality, and analysts are mixed on what the result will be.
If they build it, will people buy it? According to the Wall Street Journal and other trustworthy sources, the Apple headset will look like a pair of ski goggles with an external battery pack. It will combine virtual reality and augmented reality to create a “mixed reality” user experience. Apple is frantically searching for a standout “killer app” that will set the device apart. Oh, and it’s expected to cost $3000 (11,000Dh). This begs a profound question: will millions of Apple customers pay $3000 to wear ski goggles publicly?
The power to change the market. If history is any guide, Apple can make AR goggles into a mainstream technology accessory. Their track record is impressive and doesn’t feature too many failed products. Whether or not we are ready for AR, the headsets will upend the market. They might not have the same societal impact as artificially intelligent chatbots like ChatGPT, but AR headsets will likely transform consumer technology. The way we communicate and create is about to shift. We might reflect on these quiet weeks before Apple’s big release in ten years and think about living in a different world.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“I do think that a significant portion of the population of developed countries, and eventually all countries, will have AR experiences every day, almost like eating three meals a day. It will become that much a part of you.”
– Tim Cook, Apple CEO
CHART OF THE WEEK
We are looking at renewables this week. Wind and solar energy are making a big dent in coal energy, which is excellent news for the environment.
OUR VIEWS THIS WEEK
Promise and peril of AI in the arts: AI is changing how we create and engage with art. But what are the long-term impacts? In the first of two pieces on the subject, Xisched explored the effect AI will have on the human endeavor of wrestling with ideas to create art. Ultimately, we concluded that AI’s relationship with art is positive since it advances society’s artistic production.
5G and the challenges of the present: We’ve all heard how 5G will benefit our daily lives, but we don’t hear as much about how it stands to exacerbate present challenges. Instead of gushing over the promise of faster speeds (which is brilliant), we argued that the focus should be on how we’ll prepare for the radical changes 5G will facilitate. Easier said than done.
SPOTTED ELSEWHERE
The latest AI developments. You can’t ignore news about artificial intelligence these days. According to Business Insider, OpenAI, the company behind the widely popular chatbot ChatGPT, announced its plans to make an open-source AI model. This is a significant sticking point in the conversation with Elon Musk arguing that AI code must be open source to protect the public. While it’s a positive step that Open AI is publishing some open source material, the company stopped short of saying that ChatGPT would become open source. The ethics debate over AI continues.
The crux of mental health. Long time readers of Backstory know that we are deeply concerned about mental health and have offered various ideas on how to limit screen time to recalibrate our mental health. According to new data from Gallup, depression in the United States has hit record levels. We don’t have similar data for other countries but it’s a safe assumption that the US data is similar to many other countries. One possible solution to this crisis is a pet. According to other research, more than half of American respondents said that their pet was their soul mate.