Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

TagVirtual Reality

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Full length of man touches with digital pencil simulation space wearing headset to create virtual reality dimension. Male using tablet computer for control augmented VR environment standing outdoors

See Through the False Promises of Apple Vision Pro

The illusion of connection so shapes our desires that we may lose our taste for the real thing
Vision Pro isolates us by the mere fact of its presence since everything we see has this device in the middle. Read More ›
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Abstract creative illustration from 3D rendering of female bust figure with flat anonymous face isolated on gradient background in vaporwave style colors.

Blurring the Lines Between Fantasy and Reality

A "Black Mirror" episode illustrates the danger of seeing the world through an AI filter

The dystopian Netflix show Black Mirror featured an episode a few years ago about soldiers tasked with wiping out an apparently mutant adversary. In reality, the soldiers are seeing the world through an AI filter that is casting ordinary human beings as despicable monsters. The AI lessens their hesitations to kill the enemy. An article at Nautilus cited a research group that’s asking how much of that horrifying story could potentially unfold in real time, or is already happening to a certain extent in today’s culture. Social media apps like Snapchat, TikTok, and Instagram already use face altering techniques in their apps, allowing users to curate idealized images of themselves. But what happens when, as in the Black Mirror episode, Read More ›

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Problem of television addiction. Mixed media

Jack Dorsey: Just Read Some Science Fiction and You’ll See Where We Are

The former Twitter CEO opens up about his thoughts on Apple's new mixed reality headset

Last week, Apple announced the Vision Pro headset, a virtual reality set that is designed to “blend” physical and digital life into a unitary experience. The headset, from all appearances, looks sleeker and less clunky that Meta’s VR headsets. Users will, for the remarkably low price of $3,499 (that was a joke) will be able to have apps appear in the room in front of them, transforming everyday environments into a “personal theater.” Not everyone is stoked about the announcement, however. Mark Zuckerberg isn’t too happy about it, for obvious reasons. He’s been trying to break ground in the VR headset game for years, now. However, Jack Dorsey, former CEO and co-founder of Twitter, raised his own concerns about the Read More ›

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VR virtual reality headset goggles worn by man 3D illustration with colorful abstract art showing creativity, fun, metaverse and more, with a white background.

Apple’s Vision Pro Promises “Augmented Reality”

The goal? To seamlessly blend digital and physical space

We’ve written here several times on Meta‘s struggling metaverse project; Zuckerberg‘s darling endeavor hasn’t gotten the traction he hoped for, with teetering investor involvement and an even more fragile consumer interest. But that didn’t stop Apple from chasing their own augmented reality project. The tech giant recently announced the Vision Pro, a headset that allows users to see apps and messages within their physical space. The product is a major development, and the main goal, according to Apple CEO Tim Cook, is to dissolve the boundaries between our physical and digital dimensions. Per a report from ABC News, “Vision Pro is a new kind of computer that augments reality by seamlessly blending the real world with the digital world,” Apple Read More ›

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Metaverse technology concept

Sorry Mark, but the Metaverse Failed

The metaverse was supposed to change everything. Now it feels like an old fantasy project

The metaverse was supposed to change everything. That was the claim, at least. A couple of years ago it was very much the talk of the town in Silicon Valley and became Mark Zuckerberg’s choice darling, but it now seems that Big Tech’s affair with virtual reality was short-lived, or at least will need to be shelved for the foreseeable future. Why? What happened? Well, a couple of things. First of all, the economy slowed down, COVID hit, and later, executives wanted workers to return to the office for work. The metaverse was supposed to be a way to achieve total remote work, but apparently, not every company is interested in that setup. Combined with major layoffs at Zuckerberg’s Meta, Read More ›

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NFT virtual land is an own-able area of digital land on a metaverse platform, NFT real estate is parcels of virtual land minted on the blockchain, conceptual illustration

The Danger of Deepfakes (and Deepcake)

In a metaverse world dominated by AI, life and art is in danger of being eclipsed

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other optimistic futurists think the metaverse is our collective future. We will exist in virtual nonexistence. We will eat, shop, worship, communicate, and marry in the metaverse. This is where progress is taking us. So, we’d best go along for the ride if we don’t want to get left behind. But “living” in a metaverse may be much more complicated than you might think. The question of identity, and who has the power to distribute identities at will, haunts the metaverse project, and there doesn’t seem to be an easy solution. In September, a Russian deepfake company called “Deepcake” (the name strangely makes me hungry for dessert) pasted the face of Bruce Willis on a Read More ›

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Automotive Engineer Use Virtual Reality Headset for Virtual Electric Car 3D Model Design Analysis and Improvement. 3D Graphics Visualization Shows Fully Developed Vehicle Prototype Analysed Optimized

Why Don’t Some Tech Moguls Like Web3, the New Internet?

Web3 is a decentralized, less controlled version of the internet, as George Gilder predicted in Life After Google

In this week’s podcast, “Web3: The next generation of the internet” (August 4, 2022), Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks interviews graduate student Adam Goad and Dr. Austin Egbert, both in computer engineering at Baylor University, on the coming decentralization of the internet. With developments like the ones they discuss looming, Big Tech may be seeing a waistline trim. This is the Part I of the first of the three discussions. https://mindmatters.ai/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/08/Mind-Matters-198-Adam-Goad-Austin-Egbert.mp3 A partial transcript and Additional Resources follow. Dr. Marks began by discussing all the services he gets from Google, confessing that he has not needed to go to a library in over two decades. But… Robert J. Marks: Now, is Google just being nice in giving me Read More ›

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Amazed young girl experiencing virtual reality with a VR headset on the head

Bingecast: Thomas Furness on Virtual Reality

In this Bingecast episode, Dr. Thomas Furness – the grandfather of virtual reality – tells the story of how he became involved in the development of virtual reality. Listen in as he shares gripping stories about his time in the Air Force, and how virtual reality has been used in medicine, to help mitigate pain, and in making new and Read More ›

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person playing Pokemon Go during daytime

Dr. Thomas Furness and Applications of Augmented Reality

How is augmented reality different from virtual reality? What are the applications of augmented reality? Robert J. Marks and Dr. Thomas Furness discuss augmented reality, virtual reality, and peripheral vision. Show Notes 00:26 | Introducing Dr. Thomas Furness, Professor of Industrial & Systems Engineering at the University of Washington 01:20 | Virtual reality vs. augmented reality 04:57 | Interacting with Read More ›

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Animal Laboratory, Rat

RATs in the Technology Lab

Dr. Thomas Furness started the RATLAB, which was designed to explore innovative ideas in technology. All the employees are RATs (Rocking and Thinking). Robert J. Marks and Dr. Thomas Furness discuss the uses of virtual reality and other exciting new ideas in technology. Show Notes 00:26 | Introducing Dr. Thomas Furness, Professor of Industrial & Systems Engineering at the University Read More ›

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smart medical technology concept, doctor use smart glasses to use augmented reality to show the anatomy body of the patient for analysis and find the way to treatment in surgery room at hospital..

Virtual Reality Joins Actual Reality — and It’s a Real Advance

The grandfather of virtual reality explains how everyone began to think of ways VR might help them

As a result of media reports of his success in pioneering virtual reality for the US Air Force, many people contacted Thomas Furness. asking about civilian uses for virtual reality. In a recent podcast, Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks continued his discussion with the “grandfather of virtual reality.” And the people who contacted Furness were not asking for better computer games. They were talking about really serious issues: https://episodes.castos.com/mindmatters/Mind-Matters-086-Thomas-Furness.mp3 Transcript. Partial transcript: Thomas Furness: One question that came, one of the first ones I received, was from a mother who had watched a program that, apparently I was talking about the virtual cockpit. She called me and said, I watched this program. I want you to know my Read More ›

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Dentist examines female patient with dental tools

Distracted by Virtual Reality

Experimenting with virtual reality led to the discovery of some unintended, but beneficial uses of VR. Robert J. Marks and Dr. Thomas Furness discuss applications of virtual reality — including for pain management, medical training, and vision problems. Show Notes 01:11 | Introducing Dr. Thomas Furness, Professor of Industrial & Systems Engineering at the University of Washington 01:46 | The Read More ›

Creative team of young proud ceo experts working together on new strategy planning during meeting in office interior,group of employees discussing ideas during brainstorming briefing and collaboration
Creative team of young proud ceo experts working together on new strategy planning during meeting in office interior,group of employees discussing ideas during brainstorming briefing and collaboration

Applications Everywhere: When VR First Went Viral

Once virtual reality had been invented, new applications for it started appearing everywhere. Robert J. Marks and Dr. Thomas Furness discuss the Human Interface Technology Lab, some of the applications of virtual reality, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Show Notes 00:22 | Introducing Dr. Thomas Furness, Professor of Industrial & Systems Engineering at the University of Washington 00:58 | Exploring other applications Read More ›

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F/A-18A Hornet

Thomas Furness and the Invention of Virtual Reality

The United States military had a major impact of the development of  virtual reality. How did virtual reality even come to be invented? Robert J. Marks and Dr. Thomas Furness discuss tactile displays, sensors, and the history of virtual reality. Show Notes 00:36 | Introducing Dr. Thomas Furness, Professor of Industrial & Systems Engineering at the University of Washington 02:58 Read More ›

Business colleagues review automotive design concepts wearing a virtual reality headset.

Abandoning Reality: Getting Lost in Oculus Quest’s VR

Amazing. And time to remember the history. I was the chair of the first serious conference dedicated to virtual reality twenty-five years ago

Virtual reality got its start in the US Air Force’s investigation of heads-up display for pilots. Just as you see a candy wrapper on your dashboard reflected in the windshield while you drive, pilots could have nearly a instantaneous view of instrumentation simply by focusing their eyes from far objects to near.

Read More ›
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Inner peace: Is there software for that?

Tech billionaire funds neuroscience in a search for the secret of contentment
His approach to neuroscience is very different from that of the Dalai Lama, who facilitates neuroscience research to better understand contemplation as a path to inner peace. Chen’s focus is more on developing virtual reality. Read More ›