TLDR: Mainstream adoption requires perceived magic. VR/AR aren’t there yet, but they will be.
Apple launches the Vision Pro.
In some ways it feels like groundhogs day.
This isn’t the first mainstream moment for virtual or augmented reality.
It’s also not the first mainstream moment for AI, or blockchain, or crypto, or fusion, or longevity, or quantum either.
AI breakthroughs didn’t happen overnight. It just seems that way for people who don’t spend their days thinking about the future—building it and investing in it.
Seems to me virtual and augmented reality will be the same, and that we’re still a few step-changes from perceived magic.
Perceived magic is an important step in mass adoption. Calling an Uber, for example. It wasn’t enough to simply call or text a taxi company, we needed GPS, smartphones, and a whole slew of underlying technology to be built before you could tap a button and walk outside into a chauffeured car that appeared almost instantly. Like magic.
Of course, these new VR & AR headsets already do and will provide very cool applications and experiences with their relative progress, and they will for sure indoctrinate new users, but we’re still in the early parts of these adoption curves.
For something to be truly magical, to get mainstream adoption, it needs to reduce friction, not introduce it, and VR & AR just simply can’t make that claim… yet.
We still need technological leaps to be made before VR or AR become IR—Indistinguishable Reality. Until then, we’re using fancy game consoles and new user interfaces attached to our heads.
In order to get to sci-fi level magic we often think about when we talk about VR & AR, we need to eliminate the perceived friction caused by the headset itself, the sensory experience, and the animated nature of the visual experience.
But give it time. Each of those points of friction are within reach in our lifetimes:
Sensorial Augmentation and the Internet of Senses: While VR and AR primarily rely on visual and auditory stimuli, Indistinguishable Reality would need to take sensory augmentation to a whole new level. The Internet of Senses, an emerging field of research, explores the integration of all human senses into digital experiences. Imagine feeling the texture of virtual objects, perceiving scents and tastes within virtual environments, or even simulating physical sensations with astonishing accuracy. By engaging multiple senses simultaneously, we would create an immersive and indistinguishable experience.
Neurotechnology and Brain-Computer Interfaces: Another crucial aspect of Indistinguishable Reality lies in the advancement of neurotechnology and brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). These cutting-edge technologies aim to establish direct communication pathways between the human brain and digital systems like Neuralink. By decoding neural activity, BCIs could enable us to interact with virtual elements through mere thought, blurring the boundaries between the mind and the digital realm. Forget the headset, this seamless integration of our cognitive processes with virtual environments holds immense potential for education, entertainment, and medical applications just to name a few.
Holography and Spatial Computing: Indistinguishable Reality would also involve significant advancements in holography and spatial computing, enhancing our perception of the virtual world. Imagine lifelike holographic representations that seamlessly blend into our physical environment, enabling us to interact with virtual objects as if they were tangible. Spatial computing, coupled with highly precise tracking systems, could allow for dynamic and responsive virtual experiences that adapt to our movements and surroundings, further blurring the line between real and virtual.
Perhaps we’re already living in a simulation and just building one more layer of it ourselves, but the notion of replicating or augmenting the human experience is surely universe-altering no matter how you look at it.
Incredible what humans are capable of.
See you Monday.