Apple CEO Tim Cook: 'I'm Not Really Sure the Average Person Can Tell You What the Metaverse Is'

[The_Cynic]

I must be getting old. I remember when the market decided what companies make.
Now you have these massive companies with GDP bigger than multiple companies combined, dictating to the public what market they will live in, and like it to boot!

Arrogance and hubris have been the downfall of many a person throughout history.

The more Zuckerberg OR Cook believe they are immune, and it couldn't possible happen to them, the more likely it eventually becomes it will.

 

[The_Cynic]

Wait, you’ve received demands from Apple that you buy AR devices from them? Are they threatening you personally? Because that sure is what it sounds like. I wasn’t aware that they had even announced anything, much less started shipping. What is the name of this new device? Do you have any pictures and specs?

Remind me where the poster said they made 'demands'. So anything and everything you said after that is a straw man fallacy. But of course, you will conflate what you inferred as fact regardless of what someone explicitly said.

After all, you need fallacies to enable your ego.

 

[Mike WA4D]

I mean basically. If you want it to take off... porn is the way to get it off.

This thread reads more like a Daily Mail comment section on how video games are making children into gangsters, pornstars and drug addicts rather than something about an exciting emerging tech on a tech forum. It's just bizarre reading for the most part.

MacRumors is NOT a “Tech forum” . It is a consumer product site where pseudo-tech participants hold forth as software analysts,, hardware experts, design savants and digital marketing strategists. They profess to have comprehensive knowledge of all things Apple. Indeed their vast awareness has no bounds. It is a low tech “Virtual-Reality” world where just by showing up, people can be whoever they claim to be. Verifiable education and professional expertise are not required. Just purchase an Apple product and you are bestowed with all of these imaginary gifts of knowledge and insight. “Exciting emerging tech” is ridiculed and authoritatively rejected. Heidegger, Marcuse, and Ellul warned against the rise of a technological mass culture. These brilliant analog era “thinkers” foresaw this reality.

 

[cupcakes2000]

MacRumors is NOT a “Tech forum” . It is a consumer product site where pseudo-tech participants hold forth as software analysts,, hardware experts, design savants and digital marketing strategists. They profess to have comprehensive knowledge of all things Apple. Indeed their vast awareness has no bounds. It is a low tech “Virtual-Reality” world where just by showing up, people can be whoever they claim to be. Verifiable education and professional expertise are not required. Just purchase an Apple product and you are bestowed with all of these imaginary gifts of knowledge and insight. “Exciting emerging tech” is ridiculed and authoritatively rejected. Heidegger, Marcuse, and Ellul warned against the rise of a technological mass culture. These brilliant analog era “thinkers” foresaw this reality.

Of course it's a tech forum. It's a forum specifically about a tech company. Your opinion on the validity of the people that frequent the site doesn't change that fact. In fact your views on the subject (as outlined in this post at least) can be applied to the internet as a whole.
I happen to agree with some aspects of what you suggest; people do try to assert some kind of unproven authority when writing their posts, as indeed you have done several times in this and other threads. That's not the topic at hand though.

 

[nickdalzell1]

I must be getting old. I remember when the market decided what companies make.
Now you have these massive companies with GDP bigger than multiple companies combined, dictating to the public what market they will live in, and like it to boot!

Arrogance and hubris have been the downfall of many a person throughout history.

The more Zuckerberg OR Cook believe they are immune, and it couldn't possible happen to them, the more likely it eventually becomes it will.

I know right? It's like everything I was taught in basic Economics in high school was a lie or something. I would love to know what changed since the 'free market' seems to have ceased existing since the 1990s or late 80s and it ain't confined to Apple.

 

[nickdalzell1]

Remind me where the poster said they made 'demands'. So anything and everything you said after that is a straw man fallacy. But of course, you will conflate what you inferred as fact regardless of what someone explicitly said.

After all, you need fallacies to enable your ego.

There won't be any demand or cop banging down one's door, but like with smartphones, and not wanting one, the ability to participate in a society dependent on such things as digital IDs, cashless payment, vaccination cert apps, VR and social credit scores will be quite rough without the tech involved.'

That's where we're headed, and the World Economic Forum has been drooling over the prospect ever since the book Covid-19: The Great Reset was published. The whole thing scares the hell out of me.

However, we're still 8 years away from 2030--the year everything's supposed to be going down. Unless they move goalposts.

 

[frumpsnake]

'Is the web going to be a life-changing event for millions of people? No.'​

Steve Jobs, 1996 interview with Wired.

Not sure of the relevance but that sure was an interesting exercise in selective quoting. Actual quote:

The Web is not going to change the world, certainly not in the next 10 years. It's going to augment the world.
...
The Web is going to be very important. Is it going to be a life-changing event for millions of people? No. I mean, maybe. But it's not an assured Yes at this point. And it'll probably creep up on people.

 

[nickdalzell1]

It changed the world, but the 'modern internet' has seemingly changed it for the worst.

 

[avz]

There won't be any demand or cop banging down one's door, but like with smartphones, and not wanting one, the ability to participate in a society dependent on such things as digital IDs, cashless payment, vaccination cert apps, VR and social credit scores will be quite rough without the tech involved.'

That's where we're headed, and the World Economic Forum has been drooling over the prospect ever since the book Covid-19: The Great Reset was published. The whole thing scares the hell out of me.

However, we're still 8 years away from 2030--the year everything's supposed to be going down. Unless they move goalposts.

You are correct in being scared as Klaus's book is much more dangerous than Hitler's "Mein Kampf". Hitler talks about a political system where Klaus talks about changing humans on a biological level.

Never fear though, as Klaus himself admitted that the whole idea will tank even if only one country will oppose it. As usual the massive roar of the Russian guns tends to straighten the way of thinking of those "philosophers".

It is important though that people don't buy into the idea that they are powerless against it.

 

[nickdalzell1]

Still, the amount of futurists I've seen post to this thread is very, very concerning. They actually want to live in that simulated utopia. I keep getting dismissed as a 'tinfoil hat conspiracy theorist' despite the plan being literally on their website in plain sight.

I can only hope the futurists who want that outcome are a smaller minority than the conspiracy nuts they claim to hate. FYI: Tim Cook actually was at Davos, where the WEF live.

 

[the 12th Doctor]

I know what it is, I am just not sure I care...wait..I don't. I 100% do not care

 

[nickdalzell1]

I often wish smartphones flopped like the Newton did. Instead I can't go anywhere without seeing tons of folks buried into their screens completely missing out on life around them. It's creepy and reminds me of Wall-E's Axiom scene.

 

[Handsome Bacon]

Mark Zuckerburg and his BS are so 2010s to me and I wish he would just go the hell away. As someone in their 50s, I'd be down with VR if it allowed me to interact with the past in some capacity, kind of like a time machine. I don't need there to be any gameplay at all, it would be cool to experience some random time period of the past in a realistic way. For reference see the San Junipero episode from Black Mirror.

 

[chucker23n1]

Mark Zuckerburg and his BS are so 2010s to me and I wish he would just go the hell away. As someone in their 50s, I'd be down with VR if it allowed me to interact with the past in some capacity, kind of like a time machine. I don't need there to be any gameplay at all, it would be cool to experience some random time period of the past in a realistic way. For reference see the San Junipero episode from Black Mirror.

That’s certainly doable. There are VR museums, and also VR adventure games.

 

[Bodhitree]

Just to return to the original topic, I don’t see where the added value in using something like the metaverse is going to come from. There are only a few possible design scenarios for a Ready Player One style shared world which would motivate both game players and creators to participate in large numbers, and I don’t see Facebook moving in those kinds of directions. Scenario’s other than games are even more tenuous.

I think collaborative work environments such as Figma (just bought by Adobe) or Apple’s new Freeform app will be way more successful in the business space. If I have a whiteboard environment with FaceTime integration to brainstorm ideas, and collaborative document editing in Pages, Numbers and Keynote, then you have quite a decent work environment, without needing avatars, VR, presence and a virtual office. Further its going to be ready way sooner, and it will function in a leaner way.

Even if you have the (considerable) technical problems around VR solved, what you are trying to build is a massively-multiplayer online virtual reality environment, and there are many games firms that have tried to build even a standard MMO without any innovation and failed, especially if they didn’t employ technical talent that was previously successful. Making it scale is not easy, and solving the associated problems of economy, player interest, flashpoints, item trading and so on is not easy.

 

[avz]

Still, the amount of futurists I've seen post to this thread is very, very concerning. They actually want to live in that simulated utopia. I keep getting dismissed as a 'tinfoil hat conspiracy theorist' despite the plan being literally on their website in plain sight.

I can only hope the futurists who want that outcome are a smaller minority than the conspiracy nuts they claim to hate. FYI: Tim Cook actually was at Davos, where the WEF live.

I believe that the amount of futurists and assorted enthusiasts are taking this topic lightly because the vast majority of them considers themselves to be the "exception to the rule".

And this is exactly why there is a serious miscalculation as this system will be next to impossible to implement and enforce. Keep in mind that the "philosophers" only come up with some ideas that will still have to be implemented "on the ground(either virtual or real)" by the very people who considers themselves to be the exception to the rule. The psychology of the human nature I guess.

It is irrelevant whether Tim Cook was at Davos or not, he is probably just as well considers himself to be the exception to the rule and so he is a point of a leak or a weakness to the whole system.

 

[Mike WA4D]

Michael, I accept that she isn't a educator in the traditional sense but one simply cannot overlook the educational value of her work.

Yes Mr.Kevin… You win! I scanned the piece. She could have teamed up with Lenny Riefenstahl in the 1930’s.. Two brilliant Women communicator/propagandists. But standing alone here on the edge of civilization’s cliff— she’s just another buffoon!

 

[jmadara]

Reminds me of Nintento Wii. Hard pass.

 

[kingtj1971]

Guess I'm old (46). I don't want anything to do with this ar/metaverse nonsense at all. I don't want a headset. I don't want glasses. I don't want implants. And I'm super tired of being presented with for-profit visions of the future.

I'm a few years older than you, but I don't want any part of this garbage either. I remember getting excited at the original idea of some kind of online virtual reality world, back when "Linden Labs" first created "Second Life". Then I tried using the thing for about 30 minutes and realized it was little more than a gimmick.

Ultimately, we humans are only on this planet for a limited time. I'm not sure what the fascination is with slapping on some goggles and special gloves or other gear and trying to immerse ourselves in a fake reconstruction of what's actually all around us? Sure, you can create impossible scenarios like maybe a world where everything is happening under water, or ?? So what? Beyond it being done for very specific scenarios like practice simulations for surgeons to hone their skills, or video games to enhance the experience? It doesn't seem appealing, wise or productive.

By and large, the sci-fi novels that predict a future with anything resembling a "metaverse" paint a dystopian future that is interesting to read about, but more of a cautionary tale of what we might wind up doing someday. I don't read that stuff and long for it to happen.

Humanity will go down a long, slow path of decline if we keep focusing our efforts on ways to disconnect people from daily life and build these "escapes" for them to get addicted to.

To be fair, I do understand that "AR" is not "VR" ... and it's supposed to be much more about providing additional "overlays" of information to your existing senses. (EG. Look at a bird in a tree and immediately get a text overlay in the corner of your vision that identifies the type of bird for you.) I still feel like it's information overload... Just because we CAN doesn't mean we SHOULD. People are fighting with too much information coming at them from all sides, as it is. Do we really need all this extra information constantly streaming to us via AR? What's wrong with most people not knowing all those details and only looking them up if they have a reason to care more than most people would?

 

[ackmondual]

TBF, I didn't know what "dynamic island" was all this time, even though MR had a few articles about them (yeah, I skimmed through those. So sue me :| )

There's no universe or dimension where here he doesn't look creepy.

I can picture one where he's an actual robot. (I wouldn't be surprised he is one in this one, but I digress)

 

[bobcomer]

it would be cool to experience some random time period of the past in a realistic way.

Books work for me...

 

[chucker23n1]

I'm not sure what the fascination is with slapping on some goggles and special gloves or other gear and trying to immerse ourselves in a fake reconstruction of what's actually all around us?

There are scenarios, but they’re limited and frankly not very monetizeable (sorry, Mark). Long-distance relationships, for one.

 

[NY Guitarist]

The real question is whether there is a Multi-Metaverse©.

 

[compwiz1202]

I often wish smartphones flopped like the Newton did. Instead I can't go anywhere without seeing tons of folks buried into their screens completely missing out on life around them. It's creepy and reminds me of Wall-E's Axiom scene.

The big issue is the people who used to talk to people who started a conversation now have no one talking to them cause of the phones, so they go to the phones because no one talks to them anymore.

 

[compwiz1202]

Have you ever built anything from a kit? Walked somewhere to which you needed directions? Gone to the grocery store?

You do not think it would be easier if you had glasses on that identified the next piece and showed you how to move it to put it into place, and exactly where it went? Have you had Maps talk in your ear while you were walking to give you directions? How about either glasses showing you arrows to get you to the aisle and product you want? Those are all AR and there are a million more of those examples.

Those first ones would be cool, but I'm pretty sure stores would fight that last one like fiends. They want you to wander and get extra impulse items.