The end goal here - multiple people who are isolated by the technology they're wearing experiencing a simulacrum of human interaction mediated by that technology - is not only unbelievably depressing but also honestly just really boring. We've already built this. It was called the "metaverse" and it sucked. Everyone left.
The idea of wearing a VR headset so I can "enjoy photos with friends" is absolutely hilarious and so deeply disconnected from what human beings want and need as a species.
Every time I see the spatial photos and spatial videos, I always view it as someone putting on their VR headset to reliving a memory of someone who died. Then they take the headset off and realize they are alone and the loss broke them. I have a lot of trouble not seeing those videos from a very depressing place.
This is true. I think it's the fade effect they add to the edge of it, it seems like an effect that would be used in a movie to show a memory of someone who died.
I mean, I work full time remotely at home (company is in a different state, family is here where I live). If you watch the FaceTime section of MKBHD’s review, that would be a phenomenal improvement over Teams chat with web cams.
While I wouldn’t move back just to go into the office, I absolutely miss the ability to look at a specific person while talking in meetings, and for other to have the context about who you’re looking at with head turning or gestures etc…
In a Teams group chat, I’m always talking to the whole wall of faces essentially. Only by context of the conversation can you figure out who someone is talking to, and even then their webcam might be off center or on a separate monitor from where they’re looking and you don’t even pretend to make eye contact. There is no way to break out into an isolated side conversation or select your gaze and there’s a lot of value there.
There’s also the concept of sharing a virtual room with a person I’m collaborating with. Drawing on a whiteboard, walking around pointing at things on the monitor and such. The feeling of a shared physical space is powerful for collaboration.
Anyways, what I’m trying to say is this: The thought of replacing all human interaction with tech is of course depressing, but I don’t view this like that. This is technology that can meet people where they are and improve an existing experience. I’m not moving away from my family, esp. as my parents get older, and I will remain working remotely for the company because I very much enjoy what I work on, my team, and the way the company treats me.
This tech is a step towards making the shortcomings of remote work less impactful. It’s stupid expensive and the first iteration so it’ll have problems, but I’m much more excited by Apple’s approach to this than Facebook’s nonsense. Excited to see where it develops and how it’s adopted as it becomes cheaper.
