Blog – Page 5 – Linda Ricci Jacobs

Over 15 years of blogging about emerging technology

I’ve been exploring, reflecting on, and writing about the future of technology for many years, with a dedicated blog since 2010. My focus goes beyond immersive technology—delving into topics like facial recognition, AI, wearables, IoT, blockchain, and the interconnectedness of these innovations. My work examines their convergence and the direction they’re taking us.

Is Projection Mapping Augmented Reality?

March 5, 2019/

Is projection mapping augmented reality? I've been mulling this over on and off since a few years ago, since being utterly mesmerized by Amon Tobin's projection mapping concert. And since this made the rounds in 2015. My knee jerk reaction is - no! Upon further reflection, I'm not so sure. It augments the real world with enhanced data; so why not? Does augmented reality have to mean enhanced information, or does it include *any* data overlay (even just the pretty kind) - and so what if the digital being overlaid, maps to the surface and doesn't extend it? Does it require that the augmented data only be seen through a screen? This spectacular example of projection mapping brought the issue back in my mind. The Houston Museum of Natural Science's Energy City installation in Wiess Energy Hall spent 2 years developing this 2,500 square feet cutting edge projection mapping installation, using 32 projectors, 11 media servers, and 6 kilometers of fiber. Called "Energy City", it's a 3D miniature landscape representing the city of Houston Texas. Custom content is synced with physical animations to bring the city to life. https://vimeo.com/242998214 Because we're in the beginning of all of this, there's a lot of discussion {argument} over semantics. Ref: Kevin Kelly's recent Mirrorworld article for Wired answered in short order by Ori Inbar's "Mirrorworld v. AR Cloud or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Spatial Future" - where he discusses using the term "Mirrorworld" as that means, reflection, rather than enhancement. AR/VR/XR/MR - what do we *call* it all is a heated discussion right now. While I'm staying out of that one (although for the record's sake, I prefer "Mixed reality" for it all) - I can live with Projection Mapping being considered AR. A minor point, but one worth chewing on, if only briefly. Does it really matter? Will this particular rose smell as sweet with any of those names? - I think it matters, in that it makes the whole already confusing to the mass market subject, that more confusing. Does it really matter that VR is immersive and AR overlays onto the physical world, when those boundaries are blurring? Are we parsing too properly, and missing sight of the bigger picture? - which is, that whatever you call it, the AR/VR/MR/XR industry needs to grow.

Who you calling ugly?

March 4, 2019/

I think this is hilarious. Outsourcing your presence via another human/body with a screen strapped over their face...how long before we're just lumps of body slumped in a {comfy} dentist chair, living vicariously through a VR screen and an android? https://youtu.be/lz6-OaCk35w

The Need for Speed

February 19, 2019/

Note: this is the text from a Linkedin post I wrote, in response to a post by Cathy Hackl, She visited a concept store that features Alipay’s "smile to pay" facial recognition payment technology. Here's her video where she's discovering facial recognition payment systems in China.

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6503651708290293760/

As I've written about before, I have some very serious reservations about facial recognition technology and how it will completely remove any semblance of privacy or anonymity.

And unfortunately, it's inevitable.

What I am worried about is having our biometric data stored in so many databases, where we have no knowledge or control over how the data is stored and used. Yes the credit card company already know things about us, and can track us through transactions and location. But those things are still things that can be stopped; change accounts, banks, and your data is not permanent and persistent. Your face is yours, forever.

Amara's law states that, "We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run." It certainly seems to apply.

Slightly uncanny valley

February 18, 2019/

Wow. So. Uncanny valley...one {really bad} selfie and the Pinscreen app maps my face to a 3d avatar from their library (nb: all the female avatars are ridiculously uber sexed up - no, that's not my body). It follows what my face is doing as well - with "AR" mode my face was mapped to my boyfriend's body, with the real room in the background. Amazing how quickly this is all developing; that's 3 examples in the last few weeks of technology that can quickly, and sometimes - on the fly, create 3d avatars from existing faces and instantaneously apply realistic, real time motion. PS you'd think with all this technology, they'd at least also have a "beauty filter" button. PPS: If anyone's interested in Pinscreen's fascinating paGAN technology for photorealistic 3D avatar synthesis from a single picture, this is their video "Deep Learning-Based Photoreal Avatars" that they presented at SIGGRAPH Asia 2018 in Tokyo. [wpvideo wu4HhfVZ]

Linkedin post: STOs and VC

February 5, 2019/

...here's the body of my Linkedin post commentary on Tony Perkins' Medium post, "It’s the end of VC as we know it: The tokenization of private company investment has arrived—and we will all be happier because of it."

The tokenization of the VC business: STOs - asset backed cryptocurrency. I've long been watching (and, umm, arguing lol) with the fanboys (so far, it has been only boys) about the viability, long term possibility - and even safety of cryptocurrencies (NB: not blockchain. It's a solid technology). I've even been known to say, "It's like the dutch tulip frenzy of the 1600s, without the tulips." And I said it before other more famous people said it lol. And increasingly, how sad it is that so many startup raised money with ICOs, which are now worth a fraction of the value they were worth at the time, if they were not converted to fiat. STOs might curtail the volatility as they are asset backed; but will this limit the startups that have access to raising money this way? - hearkens back to the olde skool SBA loans, where you could get one - if you had a physical asset to put up as collateral. And while I know you can technically call the company you're starting an *asset*, for me that gets into sticky territory, when you're still getting it all running and there's not much really there yet.

Our truthy future

January 20, 2019/

I'm listening to a podcast where they are talking about using interviews with Holocaust survivors as future unalienable "proof" to deniers that it actually happened...what I can't stop thinking is, with rapidly advancing video editing (and deepfakes) anything we see won't be any proof at all. Which begs the question...how will anyone know *anything* they see, or hear is real? We are already in the age of "truthiness", to steal a Stephen Colbert term that hit the nail on the oh-so-perfect-head; if social media is already manipulating us, and we as consumers only believe things that already "make sense" to us, the impact will be serious; people will only trust what they already believe - and disregard what doesn't jive with their gut. There are people / companies working on being able to identify a deepfake, once they get so good that the engineered fake is imperceptible from the original. I'm not so sure the general public will much care; much like how easily fake news is accepted at face value, despite solid evidence to the contrary - and science deniers (flat earthers!) who disregard even the most basic tenets science - we seem to have indeed moved to a post-truth society. And the ability for entities to manipulate public opinion will be even greater. In college I took a class in Propaganda and Film with Roger Manvell (fascinating man btw), who ran propaganda for the UK in WW2; we learned about techniques that were used to influence public opinion...social media these past few years has upped the stakes; will future education include training in critical thinking, to be able to identify manipulative content and strategies? I somehow doubt it. We live in interesting times.

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