This world we’re living in is changing in ways we can’t even comprehend.
Not sure I agree (currrently) with the theory that we’re living in a simulation, but with all these AI advances and tools like the Vision Pro, we sure heading that way.
I love technology, and I think it can help us grow in many ways. Give us access to knowledge that can help us understand better this world.
But we most make sure not to loose ourselves so much in it, that we loose our humanity.
Another concern is that deep fakes will become so good and so ubiquitous that it will force us all into a government online ID because that will be the only way to have any amount of trust online
Yes this is so true. It feels as though we are building a magic light box that is so compelling to us, but for this reason will enslave us if we allow it to.
Thanks for this piece David. I had read a brief headline about this development, but had not realized quite how drastically this will change the visual landscape. As a mother, the first thing that came to mind is how children's images could now be readily translated into pornographic entertainment, among all the other possible abuses for distorting reality.
"It will make it impossible to trust much that we see on film, and ignite a billion-dollar quest to solve that problem." This might ironically lead us back to valuing reality and face-to-face relationships more deelpy, as only unmediated encounters will soon be fully trustworthy.
'This might ironically lead us back to valuing reality and face-to-face relationships more deelpy, as only unmediated encounters will soon be fully trustworthy.'
Thanks Ruth, and the thought above echoes a line of thinking I'm working on and hope to write much more on soon; essentially it will be about saying that the rise of all these simulations — simulated languages via LLMs, simulated worlds — can lead us back to a renewed connection to and enmeshment within *this* world. That is to say, we must and can find a way to overcome all this unreality and find our way back to the real.
That would be the hope. Yet, the question is whether many will choose to embrace the virtual. I just came across this piece https://www.vanityfair.com/news/tim-cook-apple-vision-pro. "I know deep down that the Apple Vision Pro is too immersive, and yet all I want to do is see the world through it. “I’m sure the technology is terrific. I still think and hope it fails,” one Silicon Valley investor said to me. “Apple feels more and more like a tech fentanyl dealer that poses as a rehab provider.”
"There’s something so gloriously weird about this; a machine dreaming of a world that was already a machine-generated dream." Well said.
Thanks Jurgen and delighted to discover your newsletter today
Likewise! ☺️
This world we’re living in is changing in ways we can’t even comprehend.
Not sure I agree (currrently) with the theory that we’re living in a simulation, but with all these AI advances and tools like the Vision Pro, we sure heading that way.
I love technology, and I think it can help us grow in many ways. Give us access to knowledge that can help us understand better this world.
But we most make sure not to loose ourselves so much in it, that we loose our humanity.
Another concern is that deep fakes will become so good and so ubiquitous that it will force us all into a government online ID because that will be the only way to have any amount of trust online
I can’t think of anything in life other than new tech that’s so consistently fascinating and troubling in equal measure.
Yes this is so true. It feels as though we are building a magic light box that is so compelling to us, but for this reason will enslave us if we allow it to.
Thanks for this piece David. I had read a brief headline about this development, but had not realized quite how drastically this will change the visual landscape. As a mother, the first thing that came to mind is how children's images could now be readily translated into pornographic entertainment, among all the other possible abuses for distorting reality.
"It will make it impossible to trust much that we see on film, and ignite a billion-dollar quest to solve that problem." This might ironically lead us back to valuing reality and face-to-face relationships more deelpy, as only unmediated encounters will soon be fully trustworthy.
'This might ironically lead us back to valuing reality and face-to-face relationships more deelpy, as only unmediated encounters will soon be fully trustworthy.'
Thanks Ruth, and the thought above echoes a line of thinking I'm working on and hope to write much more on soon; essentially it will be about saying that the rise of all these simulations — simulated languages via LLMs, simulated worlds — can lead us back to a renewed connection to and enmeshment within *this* world. That is to say, we must and can find a way to overcome all this unreality and find our way back to the real.
That would be the hope. Yet, the question is whether many will choose to embrace the virtual. I just came across this piece https://www.vanityfair.com/news/tim-cook-apple-vision-pro. "I know deep down that the Apple Vision Pro is too immersive, and yet all I want to do is see the world through it. “I’m sure the technology is terrific. I still think and hope it fails,” one Silicon Valley investor said to me. “Apple feels more and more like a tech fentanyl dealer that poses as a rehab provider.”
keep it coming Dave
Thanks for reading Gerd; more on all this coming soon