Reading Benkoil's article on AR, or Augmented Reality, I couldn't help spending most of the article thinking one thing: "Wow, that's cool..." At the end of the article, though, Benkoil mentions the "'creepiness' factor" of the whole thing. He argues, as one who'd been reading the article might guess, that the technology should move forward anyway, as it is only in the early stages and is making a lot of progress. Part of what he said, though, struck me as odd. In the final line of the article, in his final plea for AR technology to move forward, Benkoil says, "But let's see how far the technology goes...then see what objections are raised to how the technology is being used." It seems that Benkoil wants to halt debate on the merits/downfalls of AR. This is where skeptical of the government, conspiracy theory me kicks in. In cases where I hear about new technology, I try to consider, especially lately, partly because of this class, what the technology does to my ability to "go off the grid" if I were to choose to do so. After reading this article, I've decided that this sort of technology, if used widely, would fundamentally alter my ability to "go off grid".
This technology, it seems, makes the "real world" part of the grid. With a very common tool, a cell phone with apps and a camera, one can turn the world, while walking down the street, into a digital one. For me, this sounds a little scary. Not because it's not cool to be able to go apartment hunting by walking down the street, because I think that's pretty awesome. However, the way a government (or a powerful company, Google, for example) could use the technology seems a little scary. As I've said in a previous post, I've gotten in the habit of telling (presumably just my friends, but also the technology behind Foursquare) where I am at all times. Could AR be linked to this technology? Point your phone at the Union and find out that me and twenty other people are sitting here at this very minute? It doesn't seem too farfetched to me. This henges on human action, though. I have to say where I am (or at least carry my GPS-enabled iPhone with me, if you want to further the conspiracy) in order for me to show up on the grid. The question, I guess, isn't whether all this could happen, but whether we'll let it. If that's true, Benkoil's idea that we should just wait and see what happens, without much discussion, sounds like one I wouldn't suggest.
This technology, it seems, makes the "real world" part of the grid. With a very common tool, a cell phone with apps and a camera, one can turn the world, while walking down the street, into a digital one. For me, this sounds a little scary. Not because it's not cool to be able to go apartment hunting by walking down the street, because I think that's pretty awesome. However, the way a government (or a powerful company, Google, for example) could use the technology seems a little scary. As I've said in a previous post, I've gotten in the habit of telling (presumably just my friends, but also the technology behind Foursquare) where I am at all times. Could AR be linked to this technology? Point your phone at the Union and find out that me and twenty other people are sitting here at this very minute? It doesn't seem too farfetched to me. This henges on human action, though. I have to say where I am (or at least carry my GPS-enabled iPhone with me, if you want to further the conspiracy) in order for me to show up on the grid. The question, I guess, isn't whether all this could happen, but whether we'll let it. If that's true, Benkoil's idea that we should just wait and see what happens, without much discussion, sounds like one I wouldn't suggest.
I agree. I'm not into sitting around an waiting to see how this turns out-- I want to at least have a say as it goes along. A lot of what he said was really cool, but it's almost like he wanted to make sure that any reader would be creeped out in the last paragraph.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of linking geolocation with AR is inherently creepy because of the way that we live a more virtual existence, constantly surrendering our ability to be alone. I'm not sure we are going to really access the full potentials of AR. His article was written 2 years ago and I know that I haven't seen much of an interest in AR. But, however, tech companies may just be working out the kinks in the technology and may be waiting to release a product that will transform the way we live our lives.
ReplyDeleteBenkoil mentioned the "creepiness factor" yet he failed to elaborate. So Jenna you did a great job at completing his thoughts on how the AR could be creepy. With technology such as foursquare, GPS locators, and compasses, we already have the existing technology that somehow merged to create the AR application. This does not surprise me that AR exists, and uses objects, homes, museum, restaurants, and other places as part of one huge grid.
ReplyDeleteI also disagree with Benkoil when he says that we should just wait around to see what happens. Some of the potential privacy threats that AR presents are deeply concerning. Personally, I don't want people knowing where I am and what I'm doing without my permission. The closing of his article arouses a sense of suspicion in my mind and further enhances the "creepiness" he mentions earlier on.
ReplyDeleteI don't think we can be off the grid at all today if we use a computer or cell phone. I don't know how much say the average consumer is going to get realistically. It starts with some company creating and manufacturing this new AR and then it will catch on like wildfire. By then it will be too late to have had any input with legislation or protection. So for me personally, none of this stuff bothers me too much as of now. I'm just hoping to be long gone before big brother shows up.
ReplyDeleteThe whole privacy issue has always been heated debate with any new technology; and, up to this point, with every new technology, we have moved passed the privacy issue. Yes, there has been some backlash against services like Facebook, but it is still around. Those who are worried about privacy have ended up opting out of social media, and it seems like opting out of AR should be a free choice in the future.
ReplyDeleteI'd bet there's a lot of validity in the hypothetical situation you posed. An AR app that shows who is inside a building is just a half-step from foursquare and location-based Facebook statuses. Even though opting out of social media is a possibility, our reading of Jenkins and our class discussions show that to do so is basically tantamount to opting out of modern society (entertainment, education, politics, etc). If the only way to preserve privacy with regard to AR apps is to not use them, then we either need to fight for privacy as an individual right or... leave the US?
ReplyDeleteI agree that we shouldn't just wait around to see what happens with AR. It may be unrealistic to take a stand against it, especially considering how much of our "private" information is already out there, but your point about how, at this point in time anyway, we are the ones that enable this kind of thing to become creepy and invasive of our privacy implies we can do something. We're still at that point in development where the ideas are out there being put to use, but the technology hasn't quite caught up yet. So if you're against AR tracking your every move, take a proactive step now and don't constantly update your whereabouts, or even leave your phone at home when you don't want to be tracked.
ReplyDelete