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The metaverse is a dystopian nightmare – let’s build a better reality

nianticlabs.com

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Re: The metaverse is a dystopian nightmare – let’s build a better reality

#21

Post by totetsu »

ericjang wrote: post #7

The title and content of the article, in which Hanke espouses the virtues if Niantic Labs (an AR company), were cognitively dissonant for me. > The concept reached one of its most complete expressions in Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One, where virtually everyone has abandoned reality for an elaborate VR massively multiplayer video game. A lot of people these days seem very interested in bringing this near-future visio…

By the physical world they mean the Coca-Cola vending machine, and the chain convenience store..

Re: The metaverse is a dystopian nightmare – let’s build a better reality

#22

Post by suyash »

ipsum2 wrote: post #6

Title doesn't really reflect the content of the article. Niantic is describing how they're going to build their own Metaverse in AR.

It's just a pitch in disguise for their new platform which is years behind major AR cloud platforms. I won't bother paying it any attention.

Re: The metaverse is a dystopian nightmare – let’s build a better reality

#23

Post by mc32 »

ericjang wrote: post #7

The title and content of the article, in which Hanke espouses the virtues if Niantic Labs (an AR company), were cognitively dissonant for me. > The concept reached one of its most complete expressions in Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One, where virtually everyone has abandoned reality for an elaborate VR massively multiplayer video game. A lot of people these days seem very interested in bringing this near-future visio…

VR is actually a “subverse” of reality but where people’s reality is subverted in a VR form.

Most of people’s experience would happen in this subverse, work, relationships, etc. Gamification would direct behavior throughout. You would code for FB or moderate for FB via this subverse.

Even physiological necessities would happen in two dimensions: in the subverse and in reality.

You summon the plumber gor the broken toilet in the subverse, they come to fix it within the subverse which is also expressed necessarily in reality.

It’s a potentially very scary proposition for whoever dictates the subverse in effect controls reality.

Re: The metaverse is a dystopian nightmare – let’s build a better reality

#26

Post by fullshark »

spoonjim wrote: post #16
fullshark wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you got it. I'm pretty sure he's saying: VR bad, AR good. VR = escape from reality, AR = richer engagement with reality.

I don’t get why escaping reality is bad. Is theatre bad? Books? Movies? Providing a good escape from reality can lower people’s demands of reality, which can lead to a more sustainable future. If people can eat beans but be tricked into thinking they’re eating steak it can improve health and lower emissions, for example.

Well recreational drug abuse is bad, and video game addiction is bad, and ignoring your problems forever is bad. Ultimately it's a matter of degree and costs associated with the escape.

I would never make a blanket statement like VR or the metaverse is bad (especially cause it doesn't seem to exist in a fully realized form yet) but the vision doesn't particularly inspire me, and Hanke is trying to appeal to that POV by mentioning dystopian scifi representations of it, where it represented an escape from a disturbing reality.

Re: The metaverse is a dystopian nightmare – let’s build a better reality

#27

Post by visualradio »

If augmented reality leads to neural implants it can potentially lead to an even worse dystopia if the technology is not open source. Limited access to resources may result in the coercion of workers into accepting patented neural implants in order to participate in an idea-based economy in order to accumulate any personal property necessary for survival.

Accepting such implants might then allow direct surveillance of thoughts so that all novel ideas which thinkers come up with are patented by private investors, implants also open up possibility of direct external suggestion to disable the ability of thinkers to consider whether or not they are free.

The highest value of thinkers is freedom of thought. Since thought arises from material conditions and living in a community allows more time for thought by decreasing the time its members spend on basic survival there is always a social \ political \ economic component which must be considered when building better realities to avoid simply accelerating the essential trajectory of a current reality.

Re: The metaverse is a dystopian nightmare – let’s build a better reality

#30

Post by dbish »

ericjang wrote: post #7

The title and content of the article, in which Hanke espouses the virtues if Niantic Labs (an AR company), were cognitively dissonant for me. > The concept reached one of its most complete expressions in Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One, where virtually everyone has abandoned reality for an elaborate VR massively multiplayer video game. A lot of people these days seem very interested in bringing this near-future visio…

This is just niantic "talking their book".
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