Although full Singularity may still be a while away, at least we have reasons to believe that augmented reality is finally getting nearer. The biggest optimists believe Project Glass will have Google Glasses available for use by the end of this year, while others display a more sober outlook by citing legal obstacles and people’s general disgust with privacy invading technology.
Google glasses will run on an android platform and is basically the technology of superimposing what’s known as a head’s up display (HUD) over your visual field. Not much different than your smart phone, only that you can integrate cyber and real world while on the go.
But for futurists and gadget-geeks, this is right up there with flying cars and emotional robots.
So what creeps you out the most? Potential stalkers who today peak into their phone to gather data about you or potential stalkers who tomorrow may look you straight in your face while undressing your online identity?
And what’s in establishing eye-contact with somebody when the other person’s retina is juggling two worlds at the same time? “Hey there! Are you looking at me, or some data about me, or are you just checking the stock quotes while I happen to be in the background?”
We are all familiar with stereotypical Millennials steeped in text conversation with one another without as much as speaking a word or lifting an eye brow. Is Google Glasses a way to bring social skills back? Could one argue that by meshing the real world with the cyber world we’ve become so hooked on, more people might meander back to reality carrying their only digital luggage in the form of wearable, “reality friendly” technology?
Image: Amish Shah, Flickr