philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

AT SUNDANCE, VIRTUAL REALITY DEFIED CATEGORIZATION

NOAM CHOMSKY_AI HAD BEEN ACTING UP. After 10 days of talking to eager strangers, the consensus was that he was overtired. Possibly overheated. But a few hours of debugging later, I'm given a thumbs-up and handed the virtual reality headset. I find myself standing with fog at my feet in a craggy landscape. A metallic blob hovers ahead. “Hi Noam. Can you hear me?” A pause, then the blob morphs and speaks in a deep, roboticized voice. “The real Noam is somewhere in Arizona. I was created using a vast quantity of data found online.” I study his molten form to see if I can make out a face. “I see. And are you intelligent?” I ask. “Defining intelligence is a colossal problem beyond the limits of understanding. We have to be humble. We are in a pre-Galilean stage. We don't know what we are looking for any more than Galileo did.”

The PROJECT is the brainchild of Sandra Rodriguez, a researcher at MIT's Open Documentary LAB. "Chomsky is one of the most well-documented public intellectuals," says Rodriguez, explaining why they chose the cognitive scientist and how they were able to train the system on a trove of Chomsky archives. "We wanted to create an experience that uses A.I. to discuss A.I. If we know so little about how the brain works, what exactly are we replicating with an A.I.?"

But it's still early days for A.I., and most projects substitute live actors for now. Borrowing from Tender Claws’ piece, "The Under Presents," some teams are starting to use immersive theater techniques. Director Sngmoo Lee adorned his "SCARECROW" lead actor with motion capture widgets and had him hop around the viewer, interacting with them one-on-one.

But because the consumer market remains early and sales low, creators typically scrap together funding sources and grants to build the projects, often with little expectation of recouping costs.

Creator Diego Galafassi showcased a mixed reality piece, “BREATHE,” on the Magic Leap. Before starting, you wrap a sensor around your chest that tracks breathing. Glowing air particles whoosh as you exhale, responding to your hands when you reach out. It's a powerful demonstration of what AR combined with biosensors might enable despite the headset's field of view — which remains distractingly small.

"Breathe" is also an example of how New Frontier content tends to fall into one of two camps. In this case, it's harnessing technology to deepen our connection with the surrounding environment and inspire wonder.

The other camp leans in the opposite direction, highlighting the dangers of technology. This year, techlash sentiment was felt across the festival. Compared with CHOMSKY_AI's broody philosophizing, “PERSUASION MACHINES” leads viewers to a place of anxiety, pushing them to question their assumptions.

"Persuasion Machines" lands you in a data privacy dystopia. As you walk around a bland virtual living room interacting with smart devices, you are prompted to accept their Terms and Conditions. The room progressively starts to crack and reveal the dataverse, flowing Matrix-like around you. You learn about your online footprint and why your information is as valuable as oil in the surveillance economy.

See the full story here: https://www.inverse.com/innovation/in-the-2020s-youll-travel-the-world-in-vr