#because for a long time i thought the whole metaverse things was a fad

[aurosoulart]

decided to make a reel of my augmented reality artworks done over the past few months and MAN, it’s.......... suddenly hitting me just how absolutely nuts all of this is

six years ago, virtual reality was still firmly in the realm of science fiction. but now? not only is it real - but it’s possible to have a career working completely inside a virtual world where you have godlike controls over creation. (editing physics, light, gravity - and spawning things into existence on a whim? mind-mindbogglingly, this is somehow just my average workday)

I regularly spend so much time in-headset that it’s started re-wiring my brain; I think of landscapes and buildings as potential canvases for 3D digital artworks, and I sometimes struggle to differentiate virtual objects from reality. (I’ve tried to place real objects on virtual tables, and I instinctively step over/around virtual objects because of how REAL they appear and behave.)

our brains work by building a picture of reality via our sensory input, but what happens when that input is completely virtual? virtual reality is showing us that not only are our brains easily tricked, but that this is already happening even with the technology in its infancy. people using avatars with full-body tracking report ‘phantom sense’ sensations to virtual touch, heat, and cold - and haptic gloves & suits are in development that blur the lines between realities even further.

what will a world look like where we interact with cyperspace as if it was real? where you can meet with anyone, anywhere, in a virtual world you can both touch, hear, and (probably someday) smell or even taste? where job training, 3d design, therapy, education, etc. are all revolutionized by XR in the same way personal computers revolutionized them already?

what does a future look like where we don’t interact with digital media through a screen?

I don’t have the answers, but I think change is encroaching rapidly upon us all - and I think it’s gonna hit us faster than any of us can realize.

#auropost #virtual reality #metaverse #augmented reality #i usually don't share my futurist ramblings here #because for a long time i thought the whole metaverse things was a fad #and i was just getting lucky with work via random companies trying to cash in on this fad #but............ i don't think it's just luck anymore #i am lucky to be an early adopter of xr #but everything else just feels like a pandoras box situation with no going back #because i've seen too much and know just how many powerful entities are pouring effort into creating this #every time i think about it too hard i'm just like holy SHIT how did i get here #my life has been turned completely upside down over the past year just because of megacorporations battling for control over the metaverse #and the pool of skilled creators in this field is so small that they're coming to ME!!!!!! of ALL PEOPLE!!!! #a random trans artist with no formal training and one million imposter syndrome #and i don't know what the moral of this story is yet #but i'm hoping it's something along the lines of 'if i can make it anyone can' #anyways that's my rant about feeling awe and wonder at technological progress and the novelty that awaits us #hold on to your hats because it's about to be one hell of a ride