I am writing from Washington, DC, where I gave two speeches on Tuesday. One was at the downtown event center and the other was at AltSpaceVR. Her second venue is not a physical location, but “a leading platform for live and virtual events, making it easy for artists, brands and businesses to design meaningful experiences that foster community and connection.” It is a virtual place that calls itself.
I’m new to AltSpace, but I’m not familiar with the Metaverse Safety Initiative sponsored by the “X Reality Safety Initiative (X Reality Safety Initiative), a non-profit organization founded in 2019 to advance privacy, safety, and security” or XRSI. I had to learn AltSpace to give a keynote at Week. , ethics in an immersive environment. โ
This organization’s goals align with my non-profit, ConnectSafely. ConnectSafely has been working since 2015 to advance the same goals in social media and other connected technologies. VR wasn’t on my mind when I co-founded the organization, but we’re also working on safety in the Metaverse through his partnerships with Meta, Roblox, and Zepeto.
Mark Zuckerberg went all-in on the Metaverse, even renaming his company from Facebook to Meta. I’m not too bullish, but I think what we’ve learned from the relatively early experiments in virtual and augmented reality will contribute to fundamental changes in how we access information, explore the world, learn, work, and interact. I think it wouldn’t look very similar to what we see today, like having to wear bulky and relatively expensive headsets. My guess is that mainstream products will first look like eyeglasses and then morph into less intrusive devices like contact lenses. We’ve already seen some early examples of unobtrusive augmented reality eyewear, including Google Glass Enterprise, a product of the Ray-Ban and Meta partnership, Spectacles by Snap (Snapchat), and Ray-Ban Stories.
Like many other VR users, I’ve struggled with headset discomfort, mild nausea and headaches. The new Quest Pro provided by Meta goes a long way in solving these problems. It fits my glasses perfectly, the screen has a much higher resolution and can show facial expressions, so your avatar looks more natural to those who see you. It was my first time using a VR headset that felt comfortable, even when collaborating.
Meta has priced the Quest Pro at $1,500, compared to $350 for the Quest 2. Pro is currently aimed at professionals, including developers creating metaverse content, and that professional work justifies the price tag. I don’t want to, but I do know that Meta and others are working on much cheaper headsets that are as good or better than the Quest Pro. Apple is rumored to be working on a VR/AR (mixed reality) headset. It’s been around and could go on sale as early as 2023, but we don’t know its price.
work and play
For many people, gaming is a big draw in VR. I’m not much of a gamer, but I appreciate the immersive experience of playing in a virtual world where you can see your surroundings, teammates, and opponents in 3D. Depending on the game, you can also make use of super powers such as the ability to fly or teleport from one place to another.
I’m not a gamer, but I’m a social animal and knowledge worker, so I’m drawn to VR apps like Meta’s Horizon Worlds, VRChat, and AltSpace VR. These apps allow you to interact with other people and attend events such as concerts and conferences. My experience with Horizon Worlds was mostly hanging out in the plaza and chatting with my fellow avatars, but I attended a Taylor Swift concert where I could sneak onto the stage and get up close to the performers. I could see it. Once I tried it at a face-to-face concert. It’s not as glamorous as the real thing, but it was fun to see the concert from different angles.
My most satisfying experience so far has been work oriented. In preparation for my talk at XRSI, I got a tour of her AltSpace VR from XRSI founder Kavya Pearlman.
At first, talking to Perlman’s avatar felt a little awkward, but after a few minutes, I almost forgot it was VR and was able to focus on the conversation. Naturally, the technology and the room quickly faded into the background, allowing me to focus on her story.
She, like all avatars, looked like a cartoon character, but spoke in a real voice about what was important to me. Although it was made to resemble her real image, I found myself in the same room as she spoke, looking at her in a deeper way than if she and I were there. I was. In a 2D Zoom meeting. I’m not sure why, but the 3D experience made it all the more compelling.
Need to be โproactiveโ
Perlman said XRSI’s mission is to be proactive. Currently, VR eliminates the need to type and allows us to talk to each other, but eventually we will be able to “think about something translated into text and enabled by XR,” he said. Perlman predicts.
XR stands for โAugmented Realityโ and includes VR, AR (Augmented Reality) and other immersive technologies that may come in the future.
Perlman is bullish about XR, but he’s not blind to its dangers. โThis can be a very powerful weapon, which means you can manipulate society, you can manipulate individuals. is not real.โ
I agree with her concerns. We are already dealing with the prevalence of misinformation that too many people simply believe what they see on social media without scrutinizing the source. Not only do we seem to understand, but we get to hear from many charismatic โexperts.โ persuasive way.
I also worry about how the immersive nature of technology amplifies the impact of cyberbullying, time management and advertising.
But despite my concerns, with the help of an organization like XRSI, I hope things work out this time. Every new technology paradigm shift creates new winners and losers, and new opportunities to get things right or wrong. Now apply the “web 1.0 vs. web 2.0” lesson to what you’re building.
I think it went well as you said, but it’s still a primitive technology, and I couldn’t see the avatar’s expression, so I’m not sure.
Larry Magid is a technology journalist and Internet safety activist.
