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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

#31

Post by Blahah »

angersock wrote: post #29
Blahah wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What? That's the opposite of what I take from the story (although the author was clearly intending it as dystopian). The Glass in the story is not removing options, it's adding them. It's just layering information over the real world to provide a deeper, not shallower, experience. Why do people feel that the boundaries of their limited un-enhanced experience are somehow desirable?

It's layering information which may or may not be correct, and given people's natural laziness of decision it only increases the odds of filter bubbling--that is not a deeper experience. All you are doing is being empowered to ignore things which don't match your advertising profile most closely, being empowered to ignore things outside your comfort zone (in 10 years, I'm sure this will be popular with the yuppies in…

Well, all the information we ever use may or not be correct. We use it nevertheless and accept a certain false positive rate. It probably does increase filter bubbling, but that is generally something people accept. One can expose oneself to different viewpoints quite readily, and that's a personal choice people can make.

I think that statement about getting along with difficult people being a basic part of the human experience doesn't have to be true. It just happens to be part of the human experience now. And in any case, while the story didn't offer any glimpse of Glass helping you to encounter new things or learn to interact with other people, there's no reason why it couldn't.

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

#32

Post by egypturnash »

Suddenly, there are strange things in the hotel bar with you. Cartoon animals, talking monsters. Is that a human-sized preying mantis cuddling with a buxom triceratops girl? And wow, check out that pack of wolf-things. They're flickering with colors and lights, all synchronized to the same beat. They're a walking rave. And none of these strange-looking people have public profiles.

Must be one of those freaky avatar conventions going on in the same hotel.

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

#33

Post by sudont »

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…

Can't destroy your life?

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57579765-93/google-loses-au...

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

#34

Post by olalonde »

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…

> Do they arrest you now, or do they wait until the quantum computers predict it's 10%?

The movie Minority Report revolves around that idea (in case you haven't already seen it).

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

#35

Post by goostavos »

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?

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

#36

Post by randallsquared »

swombat wrote: post #28
weavejester wrote: post #15

The article picks a curious line to end on: "You know you have free will, but don’t feel like you need it." Which is odd, considering that the protagonist of the tale has done nothing but make choices throughout the whole story.

Making choices out of a selection determined by someone else is not freedom. They have this freedom even in places like North Korea...

Choices don't seem be to constrained. Rather, there is more information about the likely outcome of making many of the most likely choices. Seems like a huge win to me. I can still be ignored or turned off. It's still possible to just walk out and go elsewhere.

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

#37

Post by randallsquared »

zxcdw wrote: post #13
randallsquared wrote: post #5

Dystopia? This sounds amazing! I assume that AdBlock will still exist, which optionally removes the one thing I felt even slightly bad about in this scenario.

Positives sound great, but how about negatives? Kind of like modern food is toxic and unhealthy, but hey it's cheap , there's lots of it and well... It doesn't taste that bad! Thanks but no thanks, I'll stick to lean meat, fish, seeds and berries even though it costs me twice/thrice the money let alone preparation. And it can't be preserved as well. But whatever, fuck the dystopian future. :)

I'm struck, though, that the title indicates the author thought he was presenting the negatives!

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

#38

Post by pvnick »

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.

I think what you just described actually sounds appealing to the HN crowd.

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

#39

Post by pvnick »

Blahah wrote: post #23
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 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 comfort of the virtual reality they've grown dependent on. These people can no longer cope with life on life's terms. If that's not a loss of free will then I don't know what is.

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

#40

Post by taejo »

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.

Or maybe there are different kinds of social interactions and some people prefer the "six friends sharing a meal" type to "a hundred people at a party".

Just a thought.

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