Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
What are people going to do with all this information?
There's a thought exercise that I do regularly, and I encourage people to think of it this way. I imagine
I can see the invisible information. As I walk by a tree, I pretend I can see a label that identifies not
only the species of the tree but whether it's been watered or pruned lately—its maintenance record. I
look at a building, and I imagine I can see the architectural drawings behind the facade. As I look at a
historical building, I imagine I can see the tags that describe the historical significance of the place. As
I see someone down the street, I imagine they've got a digital cloak on and that they're a game player
in a physical space. As I walk by a restaurant or a store, I can see a listing of the things that are in the
store. As I walk down the street, I can see traffic indicators—arrows pointing the direction for me.
And in fact these things are all practical now. It's now possible for the viewfinder in your phone to be a
Web browser, so you can hold up the viewfinder of your phone and see data attached to a place. Many
applications are already available for the iPhone and Android, and there are more to come. There are
restaurant menus that you can see as you walk down the street. There are applications that show you
the health risk or danger of a place. There are applications that show you if it's safe to park your car.
There are applications that guide you to real estate listings, and on and on and on.
You've been talking about using computers to augment reality, to give people more
information about where they are and what they are looking at in the real world. What
about the tens ofmillions of peoplewho use computers to escape to virtual worlds through
games like World of Warcraft or Halo?
I have to say that World of Warcraft and many other games are coming. Point-and-shoot video games
are immensely popular among young men. So, yes, we do see that in their homes people are going to
put on glasses and enjoy all kinds of immersive 3-D experiences, games, virtual travel, and lots of other
kinds of things. That's fairly legitimate, but I don't think people are going to be gone or lost any more
than they are watching television today. People will get up and go outside. The world is an exciting
place.
On the other hand, if I “travel” in a virtual world, I don't have to worry about the long
lines at airport security or the big crowd waiting to see David in Florence.
Telepresence might attract a lot of people, and it's going to help global literacy. There will be very
compelling experiences with 3-D, and I think people are going to have a lot richer understanding of
the world. But telepresence will never equal walking on the streets of Rome.
Tell me more about how people will use telepresence to enhance their lives in the “real
world.”
We see really remarkable things happening with applications like Skype videoconferencing. Distant
relatives turn on Skype and leave it on all day because it's essentially free. I heard a story about two
elderly sisters who use Skype voice calls. They turn it on, sit down, knit, chat, feed the cat, and enjoy
each other's companionship. I met a guy who bought a flat-screen television for his parents in France.
They put it in their dining area, and he's got one in his kitchen. So when he sits down to have brunch
on Sunday mornings his parents have dinner in France. And they can just leave it on and have a family
meal together.
I think this is another great trend. I think that modern technology is actually bringing families and
friends closer together instead of alienating or isolating people.
 
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