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The Apple Vision Pro is spectacular and sad

theatlantic.com

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Re: The Apple Vision Pro is spectacular and sad

#11

Post by lolinder »

> For a time, at what may have been the height of the internet’s thrall, it became popular to pretend that the digital and material worlds were continuous—that the “real” one had no special meaning, because cyberspace had become a part of it. That turned out to be wrong. We live in cars and on couches and, separately, we also live on phones. Apple believes it can resolve this conflict—that the digital and material worlds can be merged together—but it has only put the conflict into higher resolution. A headset is a pair of spectacles, but a headset is also a blindfold.

This is a really poignant conclusion, and reflects much of the worry I have about this device category. The more tightly we've integrated the digital and physical worlds the less connected we've become as people. It's showing in our relationships, its showing in our mental health, it's showing in our politics.

At this point, humane technology is technology that gets out of your way as much as possible and let you exist in the real world with real people. From my perspective, further integrating digital experiences into our real lives should not be the goal, the goal should be to achieve the benefits that digital devices bring without actually needing to interact with them.

Re: The Apple Vision Pro is spectacular and sad

#12

Post by candiddevmike »

lolinder wrote: post #11

> For a time, at what may have been the height of the internet’s thrall, it became popular to pretend that the digital and material worlds were continuous—that the “real” one had no special meaning, because cyberspace had become a part of it. That turned out to be wrong. We live in cars and on couches and, separately, we also live on phones. Apple believes it can resolve this conflict—that the digital and material wo…

Unfortunately I think most people want the "escape" of these digital worlds. To them (and others), it's easier to live inside of dream world than fix the current one.

Re: The Apple Vision Pro is spectacular and sad

#14

Post by threeseed »

lolinder wrote: post #11

> For a time, at what may have been the height of the internet’s thrall, it became popular to pretend that the digital and material worlds were continuous—that the “real” one had no special meaning, because cyberspace had become a part of it. That turned out to be wrong. We live in cars and on couches and, separately, we also live on phones. Apple believes it can resolve this conflict—that the digital and material wo…

It's easy to make this judgement now when the headset has just been launched. But over the coming decades we are going to new see new types of social interaction that could enhance the world rather than break it apart.

For example, being in Australia conferences in the EU and US require a 14 hour flight time and days of adjusting to a new time zone. Likewise there are people working two jobs, have children or are a carer who may want to experience the benefits of studying in person but can't.

I suspect as the fidelity gets better that human need of being around other people is going to be fulfilled. Which could make a massive difference in terms of reducing loneliness and the feeling of isolation.

Re: The Apple Vision Pro is spectacular and sad

#15

Post by mattlondon »

ilrwbwrkhv wrote: post #10

I think now is actually a special time. All FAANG including Apple have faltered. Now is the time to make the next big thing. A linux based AR glasses which actually works.

It is a struggle to even get Bluetooth working on Linux, forget about AR headsets!

I think apple missed the boat here anyway - the next big thing is not AR or VR despite Apple and Facebook betting the farm on it ... They both missed this AI thing and got distracted by VR.

Re: The Apple Vision Pro is spectacular and sad

#16

Post by veunes »

I've seen a couple of videos on TikTok of people using Apple Vision, and it looks so strange from an outsider's perspective. I understand that, in addition to extra information from apps, a person also sees everything around them, but from the outside, it looks like they're in their own world. It's just weird not to see a person's eyes.

Re: The Apple Vision Pro is spectacular and sad

#17

Post by api »

lolinder wrote: post #11

> For a time, at what may have been the height of the internet’s thrall, it became popular to pretend that the digital and material worlds were continuous—that the “real” one had no special meaning, because cyberspace had become a part of it. That turned out to be wrong. We live in cars and on couches and, separately, we also live on phones. Apple believes it can resolve this conflict—that the digital and material wo…

The problem is not the tech. The problem is what’s on it. Social media in particular runs on dividing us, since maximally triggering or addicting content maximizes time spent staring at the app.

This isn’t a new observation. I recall reading back in the 90s about how the problem with TV is what’s on the TV.

The tech is fine. The incentives for media are all perverse and destructive.

Re: The Apple Vision Pro is spectacular and sad

#18

Post by josephg »

lolinder wrote: post #11

> For a time, at what may have been the height of the internet’s thrall, it became popular to pretend that the digital and material worlds were continuous—that the “real” one had no special meaning, because cyberspace had become a part of it. That turned out to be wrong. We live in cars and on couches and, separately, we also live on phones. Apple believes it can resolve this conflict—that the digital and material wo…

I don't think thats it. Its not the part where we interact with digital devices that is the problem, exactly. Maybe its the part where we stop interacting with other people as people as well.

I watched a wild video[1] the other day which really gave me a new perspective on the Apple Vision Pro. Casey Neistat walks around NYC with an apple vision strapped on his head and chats with people in the street. I was arrested by it - part of the reason is how he "effortlessly" interacts with a bunch of strangers in the video. He exists in the city, even with the headset on. Despite how nobody can actually see his face. I'd find that pretty scary to do!

I suspect part of the problem might be that devices give as an emotional excuse to avoid real human to human interactions. They enable us to turtle away. Talking to people online feels like the real thing, but better because its less scary. We don't have to be quite as vulnerable when we do it. And maybe thats the problem with this stuff - the more we enable "social junk food" we use it as a substitute for real, scary, intimate human interactions. The technology isn't the problem per se. The problem is how we choose to hide behind it.

[1] https://youtu.be/UvkgmyfMPks . Definitely worth a watch.

Re: The Apple Vision Pro is spectacular and sad

#19

Post by throwup238 »

> The headset, which weighs as much as a cauliflower

Christ, I just learned the length of a football field (and that there exists a different futbol pitch). Now I have to learn how much random vegetables weigh?

Can we at least stick to Brassica oleracea in the future? Whats the brussel sprout equivalent?

> A medium-sized head of cauliflower is about 6 inches across, weighs about 2 pounds and makes 4 to 6 servings after trimming off the leaves and stem. [1]

In all seriousness this seems like a total deal breaker:

> Typing via finger pinches or dictation was a pain, so I used a wireless keyboard. Even that had problems. Touch-typing in that context wasn’t easy, and the writing felt out of phase. The letters on the screen appeared after a very slight delay, just enough to make it feel like my words were being pulled through a wormhole on their way into my document.

[1] https://gmach.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Cauliflower.pdf

Re: The Apple Vision Pro is spectacular and sad

#20

Post by cdata »

I saw a bunch of my techie friends all run out to buy one of these on launch day (thanks to their easy availability at Apple stores).

As far as I can tell from the reviews: this device is a preview of the future. But, it still needs iterative improvements before it will live up to its promise as a practical workstation or accessible gaming device.

It is plain to see that my friends who bought one are enjoying the camaraderie of all having done so. $4,000 is perhaps a reasonable price to feel connected to others in a meaningful way.

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