Institute For The Future

Keiichi Matsuda's Augmented (hyper)Reality: Domestic Robocop

The possibilities afforded by a world with pervasive Augmented Reality has been a topic of great interest to IFTF for many years now (go here to read about the inaugural Augmented Reality Developers Camp that was organized by our Distinguished Fellow Mike Liebhold). In recent months, as discussions about the possibilities afforded by AR permeate into wider culture, it has been interesting to see examples what people think an AR future might look like.

 

One such example is the video"Augmented (hyper)Reality: Domestic Robocop". Produced by Keiichi Matsuda, a student at the Barlett School of Architecture in London, the video was created for his final year Masters in Architecture, as "part of a larger project about the social and architectural consequences of new media and augmented reality." Explaining the work Keiichi writes, "The latter half of the 20th century saw the built environment merged with media space, and architecture taking on new roles related to branding, image and consumerism. Augmented reality may recontextualise the functions of consumerism and architecture, and change in the way in which we operate within it."

 

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Augmented (hyper)Reality: Domestic Robocop from Keiichi Matsuda on Vimeo.

 

 

Showing us a quite mundane segment of his subject's life (making tea, going to the bathroom) the future that Keiichi has created is an unsettling one. Access to information on demand has eroded even the most basic skills, and as such the protagonist has to consult his AR computer to ascertain the correct algorithm for making a cup of tea. This may seem like taking the concept of cognitive offloading to the extreme, but imagine the consequences of living in a world in which the most routine, trivial tasks are aided by a personal, contextually aware computer. Thanks to continuous reminders of how to best perform particular task, we'd certainly make fewer mistakes ("carefully pour boiling water into the mug"), but at a substantial cost to personal agency. As with the growing use of GPS in personal vehicles, with pervasive, perpetual assistance from computers we may be able, for example, to get to our location more efficiently, but as a result we lose opportunities for getting lost, discovering the unexpected, and learning from our experiences.

 

More jarring are the "Hunger, Thirst, Solid Waste, and Liquid Waste" indicators that fill the film's field of view, and prompt him to head to the restroom. The ability to read and act on one's indicators of hunger and waste is a fundamental aspect of human biology. If these routine functions are being outsourced, I shudder to think what other biological and chemical imperatives are being reduced to indicator levels in this future -- will we be shown how happy we are? When combined with the step-by-step instructions for making tea, Keiichi's subject seems to have few opportunities for acting on internally compelled behaviors. His life seems to consist of executing directions given by a series of reminders of what he needs to do, rather than of undertakings that he chooses to do.

 

My favorite part of the video, however, has got to be the halting, muzak version of "Girl from Ipanema" that is playing throughout - it is certainly the perfect soundtrack to this provocative vision of a potential future.

 

Thanks to Anthony Townsend for pointing me to the video.