© Courtesy of Slate Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesThe video, unveiled Monday, of Apple's new Vision Pro AR/VR headset begins as you'd expect: the user taps the large glasses to access familiar apps like Safari, Photos, Messages. But it soon became clear that headphones are not the only devices used in personal computing. "The essence of Apple Vision Pro is that you're not isolated." It's amazing how often the promotional video's images and language are incorporated into social interactions. On several occasions, the Vision Pro demo showed headset users casually interacting with smiling friends or their children, which is not unusual for someone using high-tech equipment in front of other people.
Even as an Apple fan, I question the flawless social reality of the approach. I'm optimistic about portable headsets for special use cases like digital storytelling, educational innovation, or indie gaming. But my skepticism about Apple's promised ability to create the "profoundly new path" stems from the same (albeit more technical) Google Glass that my Lehigh classes have been experimenting with for years. About 10 years. come back. . My students quickly discovered the social disadvantages of these tools; Intervene in embarrassing or hostile social interactions.
Vision Pro is sleeker and cooler than Glass, and features and quality are vastly improved. However, the design echoes certain social dynamics in how it presents the user to the people around them. This is a portable headset with a built-in camera that can take photos or record videos on demand. All the benefits of Vision Pro are something that the user should experience and others should easily imagine.
So, Apple's proposal collided with the suitcase left behind by Glass, which started out as excitement but soon turned to paranoia. Owners are known as "gorgeous" because of their quirky behavior in public (the term inspired a hilarious scene on SNL ). To be honest, some of the sarcasm was quite appropriate. Fewer Glass users have actively breached and used the device in places like public showers. But beyond that, Glass has become a more serious product line compared to other augmented reality products.
That's one of the things that makes Monday Vision Pro's presentation seem odd. Product preview is a long-term Apple strategy that can accelerate adoption by allowing consumers to preview their devices. This works well for new products whose audience is essentially a blank slate. But the decision to present Vision Pro as a social tool ignores the lessons learned from Glass about the impact of AR and VR technologies on social interaction and the broader social narrative associated with these tools. During Apple's event, we saw a father sitting on the floor with his young children using the device and taking pictures of memories. With unspoken assumptions about normalcy and social acceptance, and the way our children (and many others) can feel like they're constantly being watched through a lens, it all seems strange.
In the year In 2013, I was one of the first users of Google Glass Explorer (yes, that's the official name) to get exclusive early access to the device as a beta tester. I wanted to explore the potential of Glass in both education and journalism, and used the multimedia classroom at Lehigh to experiment with new forms of visual storytelling. Glass had apps like maps and games that could be viewed on a transparent rectangular screen mounted slightly above her right eye.
But the hallmark of Glass has become a built-in camera that can take high-quality photos and videos. My students took lots of photos and videos while working with the device. This includes short stories we call Glasssumentaries, featuring a person wearing a mirror so you can see the story through their eyes. My students come up with fun and practical stories of their unique talents, such as woodworking and glassblowing. I really like what we did creatively.
Another mission is a social exercise that exposes the problem with hand-held cameras. For the assignment, have each student wear the glasses for two active days (in class, with roommates, at the gym, etc.) and then write about their interactions. They were told not to take photos or videos of others without permission and that we were using them for class work. Also, if someone doesn't feel comfortable turning off the camera for social reasons, they can turn it off while in use.
Students told me that even after these explanations and the device is gone, the people around them don't know how to respond once their curiosity about the technology is gone. Class teachers or friends at parties worried about the footage. Even when people knew the student, turning off the device wasn't always enough. I had to write several times to remove the glass because the social costs were so high. My students have started to expand and continue to send me selfies at parties using "#omgawkward" messages. But they thought it was probably 75 percent.
The purpose of this mission was to test the social acceptability of using such a device in public places. We found that the device had good potential, but was anti-social in nature; After all, it's the technology of your face that prevents you from looking someone in the eye, thereby breaking connections. Vision Pro black pigment hypertrophy exacerbates this problem. You might think that it's not so different when we ignore our friends or family when we look at our phones or view the world through our phones' cameras. But my students' experiences have taught me otherwise.
First, it's visually easy to notice that the focus has shifted from the phone to your friend. You can put your phone down, put it in your pocket, or look up to show your presence. On Vision Pro or Glass, this signal is more complicated. People outside the device cannot know what you see inside. Cameras or mobile phones have clear and easy-to-understand symbols. Holding the device in a certain way means "I'm taking a photo or video". These signs disappear with a mobile camera. The cost of these devices also creates their inherent isolation and power imbalance. On the other hand, the relative power and ubiquity of phones means we all have the same opportunity to do good or bad, a loss of power that encourages the creation of social norms around their use.
Communication theorist Marshall McLuhan says that "the communication is the message" that prompts us to move beyond the miracle of new technologies and ask questions about its social implications. What does it mean to have a society with this new technology, and how will its adoption change us? The main takeaway from our glasses experience is that cameras on wearable headsets are a burden on others, making social interaction uncomfortable and creating distrust where it didn't exist before.
As portable headsets become more popular, social interactions may evolve. It was then that phones became part of our social routine. But instead of fully embracing phones that always work, we've created rules to control interactions.
Like Glass, Vision Pro will have interesting applications. It is attractive for gaming and multimedia use. As long as there is consensus and there is a way to negotiate compromises when using the tool, I can see the use of journalism and creativity.
But for everyday social use, Apple is asking people to envision a future that seamlessly (and quickly) creates social norms around what to wear and what to wear. The public response seen by Vision Pro users is a sea change for a company known for its iconic white headphones or elegant IMAX, designed to tap into people's desire to be a social influencer. In classic Steve Jobs fashion, Apple's move bypassed a difficult phase and went straight to the story it wanted to accomplish: the level of creating social capital, influence, and connection through its devices. But this time the category was full of unemployment and paranoia.
Someday Vision Pro may live up to Apple's lofty standards, but adoption leading to mainstream adoption depends on user behavior, and social norms around new technologies take time. If we're going to create social norms for AR/VR headsets, we can't get past that awkward level, and it's going to be harder than Monday's show suggests.
