Navigating Concerns in Spatial Computing

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Let’s look back at the 1964 New York’s World Fair, where a 62-year-old Walt Disney debuts an attraction called Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress. According to an article written by AllEars, a “Disney pavilion at the fair, funded by General Electric, featured Carousel of Progress, also known as Progressland…The end result was a three-floor theater, with the entrance on the first floor and the main show on the second floor.”

The Future Is Here

Bear with me here…I swear I have a point. The ending scene of Carousel of Progress has always been a family on Christmas Day in the “future”; Dad uses voice recognition to preheat the oven while Son is playing a video game on a VR headset (very reminiscent of the ones we’ve seen from Apple, Meta, or Microsoft) with Grandma. This scene hasn’t changed—apart from the clothes the animatronics are wearing because it was very ’80s until recently—since I first saw this attraction as a kid.

This is all to say that advancements in technology are going to happen, there’s no way around it. We knew it in the 1980s just as well as we know it in 2024. The problem (for me) is that as we embrace innovations like Apple Vision Pro, it’s crucial to address the multifaceted issues that accompany these advancements.

Potential Scares that Come with Spatial Computing

Keypoint Intelligence’s first of three whitepapers on this subject explains that “spatial computing enables devices to sense the environment, understand its context, and project digital objects and information onto virtual spaces as though those objects and information are part of our natural surroundings. This is achieved through a combination of interconnected sensors, advanced optics, extended reality (XR), and sophisticated algorithms.”

That is very cool, no doubt. But it raises a few concerns for me. Let’s take a look:

• Pricing: VR headsets like the Apple Vision Pro and Microsoft’s HoloLens 2 start at $3,500. While some of this cost is due to the hardware necessary for high-tech gear like this, it’s still steep. Spatial computing offers immersive experiences but, at these price points, it also widens the gap between those who can afford it and those who can’t.
• Cognitive Overload: For this kind of tech being touted as the future of the workspace among many large companies, the side effects aren’t all that wonderful. According to an article from The Conversation, “Studies have found that 80% of VR users report mild to severe short-term side effects.” The merging of virtual and real-world stimuli can lead to ocular fatigue, migraines, as well as a blurring of the line between reality and technology.
• Security Risks: We’re no strangers to the severe risk cybersecurity threats pose not only to major corporations, but also to individual data. Spatial computing networks are just vulnerable to cybersecurity threats, so measures to safeguard against bad actors and cyberattacks is a key necessity when it comes to tech like this—especially when it has biometric data (e.g., fingerprints, facial recognition, behavioral patterns) from the user.

Keypoint Intelligence Opinion

I’m a huge fan of fostering a future where technology enriches (not overpowers) our lives—it must do so while upholding not only our values as a society but our safety as human beings, too. Navigating these complexities requires a widespread understanding of the potential issues and challenges that lie ahead. Grandma from the Carousel of Progress is correct when she says, “That’s what they call progress, dear”—but with progress comes problems, and the ones presented in this specific landscape should be acknowledged quickly.

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