In the era of technological advancements like blockchain, Web 3.0 and AI with companies like ChatGPT, we are soon entering a new era by surpassing boundaries that were created by smartphones; our personal space will be more personal than ever. Soon, everyone will be wearing Apple Vision or some other smart glasses and will be in their world of own. Companies like Meta and Apple promise new opportunities with new advancements in human capabilities. This does raise social concerns for human society.
Recently, I watched a movie called ‘Ready Player One’ which is based on same name novel. In that movie, we can see what will happen if we fail to create a line between the real world and the virtual world. People in the movie spend so much time in the virtual world that if they lose in that, it impacts their real world as well. They forget how to enjoy themselves in the real world.
Nowadays, everyone wants to escape reality instead of facing real-world problems. Companies like Meta and now Apple are mainly successful in doing that. People want to live in the Meta world more and more than ever before because they can achieve things in Meta that they could not in the real world. To understand this phenomenon, we need to answer this question,
What is the purpose of Metaverse?
Meta verse so-called now the virtual world, is not made to escape reality; it will be better if people understand them as soon as possible, but it is made to solve the problem of time and space; for example, if a person currently staying in the USA wants to meet the person in Japan for a business meeting, they would have to travel thousands of kilometres, which would take a lot of time and money. Instead, from their home only, they can interact with each other in Metaverse, which will be the same as the real world. This will surely help the company to do business more efficiently and effectively, not only for business but as a person doesn’t have to travel to attend a favourite music concert. They can wear glasses and enjoy it at their own pace.
If Metaverse is used for these works, then it is beneficial for society, but instead of this, people are trying to escape reality and try to achieve things which they wanted in the real world which they could not have, like home theatre, which brings us to our next chapter, Apple Vision Pro.
Recently, apple released its new product after nearly a decade, which is Apple Vision Pro. People all over the world are excited about this since there has been much speculation about it for years. If we look, it didn’t go very well in the stock market. After the launch of Google and Meta glasses, Apple was feeling FOMO regarding new market opportunities. Does it solve a problem? Like any other product/service, it is only successful when it does solve a problem. In this case, people need clarification about the purpose of buying Apple glasses.
Apple claimed that it would be very beneficial for developers to develop apps, and it would be helpful for people who want to enjoy movies on the big screen or want to play VR games. Since every coin has two sides, Apple Vision Pro also has some negative aspects. It tracks our eyes and fingers to perform tasks. Since it tracks our eyes, companies will have far more data about us than before. Companies are now able to understand what we look for. How we look is the beginning of The Erosion of Privacy.
Giving a company so much power will undoubtedly be very dangerous for the future as it will create dominance. Nowadays, social media platforms run algorithms based on what we searched for and where we are geographically. However, Vision Pro's technology is way beyond that. It can sense our environment and eye movement, as well, which can be the 'Gold mine' of data for companies looking for profit maximisation.
Is technology so much needed that we can sacrifice our utmost personal privacy? I believe not. I believe there should be a limit between benefits and social dangers in technical advancement.
Companies should also consider the social danger products may have since companies like Apple and Meta have massive fan followings all over the world. If there are no unspoken rules or boundaries between the two worlds, then soon, the time will come when human existence will be questioned, and no one will be able to tell accurately whether something is real or not.
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