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278 Jaron Lanier: Dawn of the New Everything

Jaron Lanier’s personal and professional experiences in the development of virtual reality and his vision for its future.

Duration: 14 hours
29 minutes
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Jaron Lanier: Dawn of the New Everything

Summary

Jaron Lanier provides a personal account of his involvement in the development of virtual reality, from its early days in the 1980s to the present. He explores the social, cultural, and philosophical implications of virtual reality and argues for its potential to transform society in positive ways. Lanier also delves into his own personal history, including his upbringing in a commune and his experiences as a musician and artist.

About

Title: "Dawn of the New Everything: Encounters with Reality and Virtual Reality"

Author: Jaron Lanier

Publishing Year: 2017

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.

Length in Hours: 14 hours and 29 minutes

5 main ideas

  1. Virtual reality has the potential to transform human experience and reshape society in positive ways.
  2. Virtual reality technology is still in its early stages, and much remains to be discovered about its capabilities and limitations.
  3. Virtual reality has important implications for art, culture, and human communication.
  4. Virtual reality has the potential to create new forms of empathy and understanding, as well as new forms of inequality and social division.
  5. Jaron Lanier's personal experiences and perspectives provide a unique and valuable contribution to the development of virtual reality.
Jaron Lanier: Dawn of the New Everything

5 funny quotes

  1. "One of the great things about virtual reality is that you can do things that are impossible in the real world, like flying or teleporting. Of course, you can also do things that are impossible in the real world, like walking through walls or breathing underwater, and then wonder why it doesn't work."
  2. "Virtual reality is like the wild west: anything goes, and nobody knows what the rules are."
  3. "Virtual reality is not just a technology. It's also a state of mind."
  4. "In virtual reality, you can be anything you want to be, even a dragon or a unicorn. Or a dragon riding a unicorn."
  5. "Virtual reality is the ultimate form of escapism, except you never have to leave your couch."

5 thought-provoking quotes​

  1. "Virtual reality is not a technological escape from reality. It is a poetic escape from reality."
  2. "Virtual reality can help us understand what it means to be embodied, and to be human."
  3. "We have a choice in how we design virtual reality. We can create environments that encourage empathy and understanding, or we can create environments that amplify existing biases and divisions."
  4. "Virtual reality is not a replacement for real life. It is a complement to real life, an extension of real life."
  5. "Virtual reality has the potential to create a new form of economy, a 'virtuconomy,' in which creativity and imagination are valued above all else."

5 dilemmas

  1. The tension between the potential of virtual reality to create new forms of empathy and understanding and its potential to amplify existing biases and social divisions.
  2. The challenge of creating virtual reality experiences that are truly immersive and compelling, while also avoiding the pitfalls of motion sickness and other negative side effects.
  3. The ethical dilemmas surrounding the use of virtual reality in areas such as healthcare, education, and entertainment, including questions of privacy, consent, and safety.
  4. The tension between the commercial interests of virtual reality companies and the potential of virtual reality to transform society in positive ways.
  5. The challenge of balancing the creative potential of virtual reality with the need for technical standards and interoperability across platforms.

5 examples

  1. Jaron Lanier's work on virtual reality at Atari and VPL Research in the 1980s.
  2. The development of the first commercially available virtual reality headset, the Oculus Rift, and its acquisition by Facebook.
  3. Jaron Lanier's collaborations with musicians, including Philip Glass and Brian Eno, in the creation of virtual reality music experiences.
  4. The use of virtual reality in healthcare and therapy, such as treating PTSD and phobias.
  5. Jaron Lanier's involvement in the creation of virtual reality art and his collaborations with artists such as Laurie Anderson.

Referenced books

  1. "The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology" by Ray Kurzweil
  2. "Neuromancer" by William Gibson
  3. "Snow Crash" by Neal Stephenson
  4. "The Age of Spiritual Machines: When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence" by Ray Kurzweil
  5. "The Metaphysics of Virtual Reality" by Michael R. Heim

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"Virtual reality is like the wild west: anything goes, and nobody knows what the rules are."

Jaron Lanier: Dawn of the New Everything

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