Notes:
- Influence of Sci-Fi/Fantasy on future of technology: representations of future in art and entertainment mirror what the people would like to see in reality I.E. Star Wars 3D chess and hologram of Princess Leia
- Sci-Fi is not just about "wouldn't it be cool could do that" but commentary on "what if you could do that?"
- predicts future, speculative fiction
- Connection between digital world and physical reality = augmented reality
- illusion of media as physical medium (social contract to own object representing media ex. VHS tape)
- early technology often forces user to think and progressively becomes more automated ex. Cars (danger of mindless technology being taken in wrong direction)
- in the end technology is simply tools
I found Ken Perlin's lecture to be extremely enlightening and inspirational. He seems just as enthused with what he is doing now as he must have been when he initially started back in the '80s. I really enjoyed his discussion of the connections between fiction and the reality of future technology. One video in particular struck a chord with me, the "Hyper Augmented Reality" one in which augmented reality has taken over daily functions and seems very intrusive. This future is definitely possible given the current state of technology, but I would hope that technology takes us in a less intrusive direction as Perlin talked about, in which technology almost becomes more and more invisible and serves to aid our HUMAN interactions rather than inhibit them.
