Epic's Tim Sweeney on VR and the Future of Civilization

glixel.com

It's interesting how the mainstream embraced the AI/automation/no jobs hysteria, but VR optimism (and anxiety) seems to be more fringe. If VR lives up to the hype we can have a future with no jobs, less income[0] and yet still be better off.

[0] defined in physical goods

> If VR lives up to the hype we can have a future with no jobs, less income[0]

Disregarding the hype, what we have right now, (which isn't fundamentally different from what we had in the 2000s with Disney quest) are some eye "headphones" you can strap to your face and two remotes you can wave around.

We're nowhere near the hollywood-esque fantasy of being in a world virtually indistinguishable from our world. What we have right now only fits the bill if you smash your head into some pavement a few hundred times. And then read all the ads.

VR, like watching TV or playing video games is competing with everything else for "attention". It doesn't even have to come close in emulating the full range of experiences of our world.

And I say that as a person who thinks Oculus is boring, unusable and painful.

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