Augmented Reality And Our World In 2040
There’s lots of predictions on the market and buyer trends, but are we doing enough research on how technology will affect us?
At this time of year, all eyes are set to the future. Predictions for 2021 are rampant, as are forecasts for the next 5 to 10 years.
Let’s jump the gun and travel to 2040.
The world looks the same through any biological lens, but cities are now overlaid with AR that changes everything about how we perceive the physical world as well as each other. What we see through these future AR lenses is limited by our position in society and surveillance marketing that gently and ever-so-kindly caters to our every need.
This vision of 2040 is a scene out of a mobile AR experience called MOA (My Own Assistant), an adaptation of the novel Les Furtifs by French science fiction writer Alain Damasio.
Contrary to popular sci-fi concepts of AI, MOA is more symbolic of Siri, Alexa, and our other handy assistants. She’s gentle, kind, and sympathetic to our needs; MOA genuinely cares about us. Instead of having many apps to choose from, in MOA,we have just the one.
As a publicly funded experience, MOAraises awareness about our relationship with technology and advertising. It’s an opportunity to explore how technology plays a role in our daily lives as well as its future impact on society.
It was in Paris earlier this year, at the NewImages Festival, that I put aside my mobile phone and traded in it for a device with MOAinstalled. In the middle of a great shopping complex in a concrete courtyard, an area was partitioned off for a few days to make way for a portal to 2040.
Plugging in the audio jack and holding up the phone, MOA’s gentle voice greeted me like a new best friend. We talked for a little while though the mobile interface where I could pick certain reactions to her bantar. MOA was incredibly personable. She delivered interesting information and supported my choices. She also offered several upgrades, including premium membership with greater access to the city.
MOA was so nice that I felt a little guilty about not wanting to pay more, subscribe, or start a free trial for a gym membership.
“During the experience you establish an emotional connection with the artificial intelligence,” says Marie Blondiaux, producer at Red Corner studio that developed MOA. “When it works, you don’t even know it.”
So here I am, standing in the Forum des Images, looking through my mobile device with MOA. I see a shopping mall with still and digital billboards, flashing lights, ads, shoppers and a host of goods, all combined with minimal AR overlays.
