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Google Glass in 10 years: the view from dystopia

pandodaily.com

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Re: Google Glass in 10 years: the view from dystopia

#61

Post by ippisl »

pvnick wrote: post #39
Blahah wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The avatar idea has been a staple of sci-fi for a long time, at least since Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash (1992). Personally I don't find it creepy at all. Ever used SecondLife? Nothing about the scenario in the article actually suggests a loss of free will - if anything it suggests a gain of super-free will in which people are more able to have their desires fulfilled by accentuating and enhancing what the real world…

>Nothing about the scenario in the article actually suggests a loss of free will - if anything it suggests a gain of super-free will in which people are more able to have their desires fulfilled by accentuating and enhancing what the real world can offer. At the end of the article, it depicts the people taking off their Glass only to find the real world bland and uncomfortable, quickly returning to the relative comfo…

How is the end of the article different from wearing makeup and nice clothes and trying to live in nice neighborhoods?

Re: Google Glass in 10 years: the view from dystopia

#62

Post by bbwharris »

bilbo0s wrote: post #53
mtgx wrote: post #24

I assume he wanted the readers to now think negatively about this future. I kind of like it. Plus, that's not just the "Google world". It's the Internet. Do you think you can just unplug from the Internet 10 years from now? Can you do it now? It's only going to get harder, especially for new generations that are born with it. What does worry me about the future, is governments having total knowledge about every singl…

I think the "hive mind" can destroy your life. A few weeks back I think, there was a story on HN about a mobile App that would help you in boycotting companies and products by scanning the product's bar code while you are in a grocery store. I immediately thought, "Wow... this would be much better as a Glass app that just puts a big X over every product you reach for whose purchase would support a company which acts…

Or this complete lack of privacy erases what we today call politically correct. Perhaps these labels will have less weight or significance because everyone will be labeled in some seemingly negative way.

Re: Google Glass in 10 years: the view from dystopia

#63

Post by mike-cardwell »

pvnick wrote: post #8

Wow! I've always had a thing for dystopian literature, and the world this article presents actually seems plausible. Two ideas I particularly found intriguing: -The idea of using an avatar to mask your true physical appearance. This seems like an appealing idea since changing your avatar on a settings panel is easier than keeping well-groomed and presentable. Perhaps citizens of the Google Glass world no longer feel…

The avatar idea seems like the least likely thing in the article to me. Why would I opt in to allowing people to alter their appearance to me?

Re: Google Glass in 10 years: the view from dystopia

#64

Post by mwcampbell »

> The music from the wall speakers sounds tinny.

Would there even be loudspeakers in such a world? If we all wore computers with earpieces, there would be no need for sound amplification as we know it now. I, for one, would welcome the end of music played over loudspeakers in public places, chosen according to someone else's idea of what music the masses would like.

Re: Google Glass in 10 years: the view from dystopia

#65

Post by mikesaraf »

stared wrote: post #11

I think that when it comes to "the Google contact lenses dystopia" there is no better comment than a short movie "Sight" http://vimeo.com/46304267 . (It starts with gamification of cucumber cutting.)

Its funny that the game in the opening of "Sight", released 10 months ago, is similar to one they had at Google IO this year. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqOluB4e-q4

Re: Google Glass in 10 years: the view from dystopia

#66

Post by anonymous »

angersock wrote: post #21
anonymous wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

+1. I always hate it when I enter a party and the violent cacophony of five or even ten simultaneous conversations hits me at once. And even when I find a group of people I can stand, there's this awful noise all around. It would be pretty awesome if glass could not only find the people for me, but also actively filter everybody else, so I can talk in relative quiet.

Why not simply stay home, eat Doritos, drink Mountain Dew, and surf IRC? Sounds like you want all of the social without the part where you interact with society.

Because, insane as it sounds, I'm better at talking face to face, than typing over IRC. I just want it not so loud and obnoxious. Also, Doritos and Mountain Dew taste awful and are bad for you. I'd rather have a salad.

Re: Google Glass in 10 years: the view from dystopia

#67

Post by angersock »

anonymous wrote: post #66
angersock wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why not simply stay home, eat Doritos, drink Mountain Dew, and surf IRC? Sounds like you want all of the social without the part where you interact with society.

Because, insane as it sounds, I'm better at talking face to face, than typing over IRC. I just want it not so loud and obnoxious. Also, Doritos and Mountain Dew taste awful and are bad for you. I'd rather have a salad.

What if it was a salad...made out of Doritos! :D

Re: Google Glass in 10 years: the view from dystopia

#68

Post by anonymous »

angersock wrote: post #67
anonymous wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because, insane as it sounds, I'm better at talking face to face, than typing over IRC. I just want it not so loud and obnoxious. Also, Doritos and Mountain Dew taste awful and are bad for you. I'd rather have a salad.

What if it was a salad... made out of Doritos ! :D

I like the way you think. We should meet in a quiet place where no-one can hear you scream. I mean, where we can't hear no-one screaming all the time.

Re: Google Glass in 10 years: the view from dystopia

#69

Post by wikke »

goostavos wrote: post #35

A bit of an offshoot from the article, but is the quantum calculation speed true, or just flowery journalist language? Simultaneously being 0 and 1 at the same time? Solving problems faster than imaginable? Is it possible to understand the ideas behind quantum computing without having a physics degree? Is there a good layman introduction somewhere?

In laymans terms:

If you have 0 and 1 as inputs you have to try all possible combinations to get all possible results and choose an optimal one.

If you have all possible combinations of 0 and 1 at once you can just use the optimal solution in one step.

Re: Google Glass in 10 years: the view from dystopia

#70

Post by TravisLS »

I'm surprised to see the attitude of this thread as so optimistic about this potential future. Even ignoring the government / police state possibilities, I found this terribly dystopian, and I imagine many others outside of the most optimistic tech bubbles would agree.

While taken individually, many of the technologies presented in the story seem to be useful or even fun, the world they create is inescapably bland. And it's the inescapability of it that makes it so awful. While on the surface these theoretical advances provide value, they also potentially destroy the possibility of serendipitous interaction, of meeting someone incompatible, of having your perspective changed, of connecting with someone intimately.

For me, the "problems" being solved by the tech in this story are much of what makes life worth living. While building technology, I think it's important to consider the effects and side effects of these things, and to focus on technology that improves and enhances our lives, rather than takes them over.

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